Fraternizing With the Enemy
by KCKibbles
Summary: With the Dark Lord building up his forces and his father keeping secrets, Theodore Nott's loyalty begins to waver. Does he really have to choose a side? And what's this about a secret Defense Against the Dark Arts club? OotP AU
1. Chapter 1

The King's Cross station seemed to be far more crowded than usual in Theodore Nott's opinion. It wasn't just new first years, it seemed that a lot of adults saw it proper to come along with their children this year. Why though, he had no idea. His own father didn't come with him this time, but that was because he was busy on a mission for the Dark Lord. Well, more like kissing up to him, but that really wasn't any of his business to judge. As he pulled his trunk onto the train, he recognized the werewolf and the mad Auror shaking hands with Potter.

_Must be guarding him. Fools, why would anybody attack him now in such a crowded place?_

He shrugged to himself and continued down the train with his slightly lighter than usual trunk until he found a compartment with a single first year girl in it.

"Out," he said coldly, pulling out his wand and pointing it at her. "Or I'll hex you." She squeaked in terror, grabbing her trunk and cat to run out of the compartment. With a soft chuckle he entered the compartment and heaved his trunk into the luggage rack, putting his Ural Owl, Bernadette, onto the seat across from him. She was pretty old now, and he briefly wondered when she would croak. He stuck a finger into her cage and stroked her once before looking out the window in time to see a large bear-like dog chasing the train as it started to move until they turned a corner.

He gazed outside of his compartment at people who were trying to find seats. Longbottom paused in front of his compartment but a quick glower from Theodore sent him scampering into the very last carriage. He had to do this about six more times to other people, including Potter and the Weasley girl.

He laid down in his compartment and thought about his summer. It was usually quite lonely with only his father and a young inexperienced house elf as company. Though this summer was slightly different because he actually had someone writing to him. Draco Malfoy made sure to write in order to brag all about how his father was able to do all these missions for the Dark Lord and that he would be able to meet the Dark Lord for the first time soon- maybe during the following summer. Blaise Zabini actually sent one letter, complaining about Malfoy who was bragging to him as well and that Theodore was lucky that _his_ mother didn't keep him locked up at home. Theodore only replied with _"My mother's dead, you git_." and that had ended Zabini's sudden desire to write to him; Malfoy had been harder to shake off. Persistent prat. Though Malfoy's letters did make him think about a few things like: While Malfoy's father seemed to keep him informed about what was going on, why hasn't Theodore's own father said _anything_ to him about the Dark Lord or his current "occupation"? Why wasn't he allowed to meet the Dark Lord? Why did he have to sneak around his own home in order to even glimpse his father in his Death Eater attire? His father knew that he knew about everything, so why did he act like it was a secret?

Preferring not to think about his father in a negative light, he focused his thoughts elsewhere. How about the news? The _Daily Prophet _had been saying Harry Potter was an attention-seeking child and that Dumbledore was mad, but he knew that wasn't true. Potter was telling the truth, the Dark Lord, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, had returned. _Voldemort_. He shuddering involuntarily. Dumbledore had lost quite a lot for trying to warn the Ministry, and he wasn't having any success, why did he even bo-

His thoughts halted when he noticed Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle lumbering around looking lost outside of his compartment. _Honestly, without Malfoy they're even more pathetic than usual._

He sat up, stretched, and opened his compartment door. "Oy, Crabbe, Goyle, what're you doing standing there like idiots?" he asked. "Where's Malfoy?"

"Prefect," Goyle mumbled.

Theodore almost groaned. More bragging rights for Malfoy, and he was just asking for an earful of it after he decided to let Crabbe and Goyle into his compartment. Come to think of it, if Malfoy hadn't written to him about the Prefect thing, then he was probably _waiting_ to brag in person. He sat on the seat next to Bernadette and watched the two dunderheads put away their luggage and begin to play Exploding Snap. Dying of boredom around half an hour later, he actually considered asking if he could play. Unfortunately for him, the food trolley came up and the two clumsily stuffed the cards back into their pockets in order to gorge themselves. Knowing full well that they wouldn't be keen on sharing, he bought his own load of sweets and helped himself.

The compartment door slid open almost an hour later and there stood Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson. Theodore grimaced when he saw they _both_ wore prefect badges. When Malfoy caught him looking at it, he smirked at him and tapped it with one finger before sitting down on this same seat as him, Pansy following suit.

"So Nott, Crabbe, Goyle…as you can see, Pansy and I have been bestowed the honor of becoming _prefects,_" Malfoy started. "At least, it would be an honor if they didn't give it to _anyone_."

"Oh, feeling modest now, are we Malfoy?" Theodore asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Malfoy ignored him. "The prefects are all a bunch of sods. They chose _Granger_ and _Weasley_ for Gryffindor. Though I suppose for a pathetic house you need pathetic representatives."

"Mudbloods and blood traitors, 'suppose you're right about that one." Theodore agreed, practically shoving Bernadette's cage between him and Pansy. The owl hooted indignantly and seemed to glare at him with her large eyes but he just shrugged and looked out the window. "Have you flaunted your status in Potter's face yet?"

Malfoy's eyes widened and he stood up quickly, practically throwing Pansy's hand back into her face (she had been inching it towards his) and looked at Theodore. "Merlin, Nott, I haven't! I can't believe I've forgotten." He turned to Crabbe and Goyle. "Come on you two, let's look for Potter."

Pansy scowled when they exited and seeing that there was no reason to stay, left the compartment without glancing back. Theodore noticed his owl's rustled feathers began to smooth.

"Don't relax now. Haughty Slytherins are easily distracted but they'll soon be back, and in greater numbers," Theodore said to Bernadette. "I should know, I'm one of them. At least that's how it goes down in Hogwarts, not sure if that many Slytherins could fit in this compartment though…"

Not even ten minutes later, they returned. Theodore managed to curse loudly before they opened the compartment door. It wasn't that he hated them, it's just that Malfoy was so…willing to include him into his gang, it was annoying. It was probably a friendly gesture, but he really didn't want to hang out with the same people too much, it was like making a commitment. They say "hello", they'll expect you to say _"Hi" back_. They write you letters, they'll expect you to _write back_. They give you Christmas gifts, they'll expect a _gift in return._ It was frustrating and he would rather not have to deal with it.

"He was hanging out with the crazy Ravenclaw girl, mighty Potter must be desperate to make friends if he's willing to consort with Loony Lovegood!" Malfoy crowed. Theodore just nodded, playing with a feather that Bernadette had lost while he cracked open _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5. _He went through the first two pages as Malfoy talked about how pathetic Harry Potter was before stopping abruptly.

"Nott. Speak up, I need intelligent conversation here."

"I need someone intelligent to converse with." Theodore retorted, smirking at Malfoy's scowl.

"Has your father told you anything about the Dark Lord?"

Theodore paused from his reading and looked at him stoically. "No."

"Aren't you curious of what's going on? What your father has been doing? What the Dark Lord has been doing?" He smirked. "What _I've _been doing?"

His jaw twitched as he thought of what to say. "If I was wondering," he said slowly. "I would have written back to you instead of blatantly ignoring your letters and tossing them into the fire."

Malfoy let out a dignified snort. "Whatever you say, Nott. But, just so you won't be a clueless as a mountain troll, the Dark Lord is just keeping a low profile and building up his forces. Our fathers have been out gathering some rather _large _recruits and killing a select few who do not sympathize with our cause. There are also plans for breakouts in foreign countries before we move on the Az-"

"Malfoy." He was surprised at how cold his own voice was. Malfoy blinked and looked at him interestedly. "Are you sure you're ready to be involved in these activities?"

"Activities? What, being a Death Eater? Father says I'm too young but _I _th-"

"Do you hear yourself? Malfoy, this is real life. You just talked about our murderous fathers without batting an eye."

He cocked an eyebrow. "So? They've killed before in the first war."

Theodore sighed, it was obvious that what their fathers were doing hadn't sunk into Malfoy's thick skull yet. He actually felt sorry for him, it would be difficult for Malfoy to fully understand what it was his father was doing since he was, whether he knew it or not, very sheltered. Malfoy would probably have to witness a murder to get why he shouldn't talk about it so easily.

Theodore on the other hand had seen it happen about half a dozen times. He preferred to keep the number in the single digits, but it would only be a matter of time before…

He forced his thoughts to stop and just nodded at Malfoy. "Right, but I just don't think you should charge in like a thick Gryffindor."

Malfoy looked extremely insulted, but it shut him up about his summer. As the train continued on it's way, Theodore realized he was reading his book without taking in any of the words. With a snort of distaste he slammed it shut and put it away. Malfoy was talking to Crabbe and Goyle about how he planned to use and abuse his Prefect privileges and idly wondered where Pansy went. He passed the time by staring up at the darkening sky outside, thrown off slightly when he realized there was a light drizzle and it was going to be a moonless night.

The rest of the train ride went on without anything very interesting happening. Zabini came in for a while and managed to keep Malfoy from bragging for about twenty minutes. He, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle talked animatedly about Quidditch; Malfoy even grudgingly agreed that they probably wouldn't win against Gryffindor…Until Goyle reminded him that he was a Prefect. That gave Malfoy the brilliant idea to try and get Potter a detention for his games. It was only after Theodore suggested they get their robes on when Zabini went back into his own compartment.

"You'll have to supervise everyone while we get off the train." Theodore reminded Malfoy who flashed him a look of annoyance. When he left with Crabbe and Goyle, Theodore flicked his wand at his own trunk, "_Locomotor trunk_," and carried Bernadette's cage in his other hand, shoving past students who were scrambling out of the train.

He stepped out onto the platform and out through the station. Something seemed off as he shuffled onto the road outside with the large crowd of students. When he saw Professor Grubby-Plank was the one leading the first years, he realized that the half-giant, Hagrid, was missing. He wouldn't be missed. He looked out at the crowd to see if anything else was different, but all he saw was Hermione Granger scolding Malfoy who was replying scathingly back until the arrival of Pansy convinced Granger to leave him alone. She went off to Potter and Ron Weasley who were waiting for her near a row of coaches. Malfoy seemed to have conjured a gang of Slytherins around him as he shoved past a few second years into an unoccupied carriage.

Preferring not to spend his whole day with Malfoy, Theodore went ahead and took a carriage where a Ravenclaw, Anthony Goldstein, was sitting. He looked surprised to seem him climb aboard uninvited, but said nothing. Terry Boot and Michael Corner nearly jumped out of their skins when the entered and saw him in there, but unlike Goldstein, Boot thought it was fine to shout what he was thinking. "What are you doing here?"

"Sitting."

He rolled his eyes. "Well, obviously, but…we don't _know_ you and…never mind," he sighed, sitting next to him to look at Goldstein questioningly but he just shrugged. Michael Corner stuck his head out of the carriage to see if any other unexpected guests would show up, then closed the door.

Outside the window, Theodore could see the silhouettes of the skeleton horses moving steadily forward. He wasn't sure why he was the only one able to see them, but assumed it was better not to mention it incase anybody thought he was going mad. He always forgot to look them up in the library, maybe he would remember this year.

"I noticed Potter came back this year." Corner said conversationally.

"I think everybody noticed." Goldstein said, looking at his reflection in the window to flatten his hair. "Everybody was clambering over each other to get a good look at him. Honestly, he's not a zoo exhibit, and this year is O.W.L. year. Insane or not, people should worry more about school and less about Harry and whether he's gone bonkers."

"I don't think he's insane. Maybe traumatized and spouting nonsense… Maybe he's gotten over Cedric's death now, he could be normal now." Boot said.

"I want to know how Cedric died, though." Corner murmured. "He just came out of the maze with his _body_ for crying out loud. The papers say it was a tragic accident, Potter says it was You-Know-Who… Both are just so _out there_. The Tournament was suppose to be safer, how could it be an accident?"

Boot's eyes widened dramatically. "You don't think Harry's the one who killed him, do you? There was so much stress for the Champions in the Tournament, it could have addled his brains a bit."

"That's what I was thinking!" Corner exclaimed and Goldstein rolled his eyes. "I just didn't want to say anything because it sounded mad…"

Theodore snorted but the sound was drowned out as their carriage went over a large rock and landed back on the ground with a loud bang. He wasn't sure whether they believed Potter or not, but was pretty sure they would be adding to the gossip which was sure to be going on at Hogwarts.

A soft jingle sounded as the carriage stopped and Theodore jumped out of the coach to avoid stepping into a puddle. To his amusement, Boot enthusiastically splashed into it, causing Goldstein to shove him unknowingly into one of the skeleton horses. Boot let out a small cry when he felt the contact and jumped away, looking around wildly, unable to see the creature he had touched; the skeleton horse shook it's head and stretched wings.

"Something wrong?" Theodore asked derisively.

"I…uh, no I was just- nothing, never mind…" Boot said, looking confused.

Theodore watched him jog after Goldstein and Corner…and pretty much every single student in Hogwarts. Strange that he had spent the last four years with a few still didn't know their names, it was quite fascinating when he thought about it. Once the Dark Lord took over, he knew that half of these kids would be killed. Any intelligent being can see that Hogwarts would be one of the first places the Dark Lord would seek to take over, right next to the Ministry. Mudbloods, blood traitors, and some half-bloods, they would all be killed… Thank Merlin he was a pure-blood, he had some protection.

"Hey! Move your keister, Nott!" Tracey Davis shouted at him from the top of the steps, jolting him out of his thoughts for the hundredth time that day. The girls around her, including Pansy, giggled at the expression on his face.

With a roll of his eyes, he went up the stone steps into the castle.

* * *

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	2. Chapter 2

Those sweets seemed like hours ago, Theodore couldn't wait for the start-of-term feast. He was currently regretting the time he wasted dawdling in front of the castle because now he was going to be one of the last to sit down. He would be forced to sit in between two groups unless somebody saved him a spot. With a huff he leaned against the wall to wait for the other Slytherins to find their seats and scanned the Hall. Students were talking to each other excitedly and shouts were heard all around from House to House. He couldn't help but notice that some lowered their voices to whispers, and it wasn't hard to see why; Potter was passing by them. The rumors had already started and it hadn't even been ten minutes. He smirked at Potter's misfortune and realized that Draco was right, he _had _been hanging around that girl whose name he could not recall. (He knew she was called "Loony", but that name was so childish he didn't dare let it leave his lips, mental lips or not.) She had left him to go sit with her fellow Ravenclaws and he figured he should do the same.

With the Slytherins that is, not the Ravenclaws.

He sauntered to the long table, pleased to see an empty spot with his fellow fifth years. Zabini gave him a curt nod and scoot over a bit to give him more room. He sat down gracefully and looked up at the staff table. The first thing he saw was a hideous fluffy pink cardigan that made him gag and he was sure that it wasn't on a _person_, unless that person was dead and someone was disrespecting the poor corpse. He leaned back in an attempt to see the whole picture. The cardigan-from-hell was on a short ugly woman with curly hair and a pink Alice band that did little to compliment her ugly, pale, toad-like face and bulging eyes. Ok, maybe he was exaggerating a bit, but he _really_ hated looking at her.

"Tell me that is not our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," he said to Zabini, giving him a pleading look.

"Is she? I thought she was one of the magical creatures we would be learning about from that Grubbly-Plank woman," he snickered.

Malfoy heard them and smirked. "She's hideous," he confirmed. "But from the Ministry, her name's Dolores Umbridge. She's Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic under Fudge himself. Better not cross her, my father told me to make sure everyone here keeps their head down, she's a vicious bat when she wants to be." He paused. "And yes, she'll be our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Hogwarts is in for some changes."

Theodore shifted uncomfortably and Zabini stared back at Umbridge looking a bit sullen as he spoke. "Wonder what she and Dumbledore are talking about, they don't seem to hate each other," he murmured. "You'd think he would hate someone sent from the Ministry to spy on his school."

"The Ministry should mind it's own bloody business." Hamilton Harper, a fourth year, spat.

"Fudge thinks Dumbledore is trying to overrun the Ministry!" Theodore heard Miles Bletchley say to his friend. Bletchley never really did think before he acted (and he was pretty loud), but there was truth behind those words, it was the only reasonable explanation as to why a Ministry hag was here to teach at a school.

"First years are here." Malfoy said when he saw Grubbly-Plank take her seat where Hagrid usually sat, shushing them all almost immediately. Theodore privately enjoyed the sorting, the first years always looked so terrified it was bordering on hilarious. There was actually one terrified looking one right in the middle, staring at the hat which rested on a stool in Professor McGonagall's hands. The Great Hall went silent and she placed the stool in front of them where they could all see. The hat's brim twitched and the Sorting Hat, as usual, burst into song:

_In times of old when I was new_

_And Hogwarts barely started_

_The founders of our noble school_

_Thought never to be parted:_

_United by a common goal,_

_They had the selfsame yearning,_

_To make the world's best magic school_

_And pas along their learning._

"_Together we will build and teach!"_

_The four good friends decided_

_And never did they dream that they_

_Might someday be divided,_

_For were there such friends anywhere_

_As Slytherin and Gryffindor?_

_Unless it was the second pair_

_Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw?_

_So how could it have gone so wrong?_

_How could such friendship fail?_

_Why, I was there and so can tell_

_The whole sad, sorry tale._

_Said Slytherin, "We'll teach just those_

_Whose ancestry is purest."_

_Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whose_

_Intelligence is surest."_

_Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those_

_With brave deeds to their name,"_

_Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot,_

_And treat them just the same."_

_These differences caused little strife_

_When first they came to light,_

_For each of the four founders had_

_A House in which they might_

_Take only those they wanted, so,_

_For instance, Slytherin_

_Took only pure-blood wizards_

_Of great cunning, just like him,_

_And only those of sharpest mind_

_Were taught by Ravenclaw_

_While the bravest and the boldest_

_Went to daring Gryffindor._

_Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest,_

_And taught them all she knew,_

_Thus the Houses and their founders_

_Retained friendship firm and true._

_So Hogwarts worked in harmony_

_For several happy years,_

_But then discord crept among us_

_Feeding on our faults and fears._

_The Houses that, like pillars four,_

_Hand once held up our school,_

_Now turned upon each other and,_

_Divided, sought to rule._

_And for a while it seemed the school_

_Must meet and early end,_

_What with dueling and with fighting_

_And the clash of friend on friend_

_And at last there came a morning_

_When old Slytherin departed_

_And though the fighting then died out_

_He left us quite downhearted._

_And never since the founded four_

_Were whittled down to three_

_Have the Houses been united_

_As they once were meant to be._

_And now the Sorting Hat is here_

_And you all know the score:_

_I sort you into Houses_

_Because that is what I'm for,_

_But this year I'll go further,_

_Listen closely to my song:_

_Though condemned I am to split you_

_Still I worry that it's wrong,_

_Though I must fulfill my duty_

_And must quarter every year_

_Still I wonder whether sorting_

_May not bring the end I fear._

_Oh, know the perils, read the signs,_

_The warning history shows,_

_For our Hogwarts is in danger_

_From external, deadly foes_

_And we must unite inside her_

_Or we'll crumble from within._

_I have told you, I have warned you…._

_Let the Sorting now begin._

Theodore frowned as the hat went silent, if that song hadn't been ominous, he didn't know what was. He wasn't the only one who thought so apparently, since the Great Hall was suddenly loud with whispers. It took a moment for the clapping to start up, but he didn't join in this time, to busy thinking about the song. His father said the hat had given a warning once when he was in Hogwarts, and that was like fifty years ago during his first year. He couldn't recall any specifics, and it had just been a passing story told to him only once since his dad didn't talk much about Hogwarts. But was it a warning or just advice?

"Unite the Houses? How vile!" Pansy said to Malfoy, looking horrified.

Malfoy looked as if something disgusting had been shoved in front of his face. "It's ridiculous, why does that stupid rag suggest that now? Things will get better on their own once the D-"

"My God, Malfoy, shut up," Zabini snapped, looking around incase anybody heard what Malfoy almost said. Theodore knew for a fact that Zabini and his mother were not followers of the Dark Lord, but they did like his views. It would probably be bad if anybody saw him hanging around Malfoy when he brought up the Dark Lord a lot. "The Sorting has started, I want to see the new snakes."

Malfoy's fists were clenched, he was probably not pleased that he hadn't been able to say everything he wanted to for almost the whole day, he was always cut off. They would get an earful of it in the common room. He bit the inside of his cheek in amusement when Malfoy started snapping at Crabbe and Goyle for little things like "breathing too loudly" or "blinking too much".

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted after the terrified boy had put it on. _So much for bravery._

"Bailey, Adelaide." Professor McGonagall called out next from her long piece of parchment.

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Church, Sterling."

"HUFFLEPUFF!" Goyle's stomach was growling viciously and seemed to be louder than the Hufflepuff table's applause. He was actually a bit nervous and wondered if Goyle was into cannibalism.

"Fletcher, Wilona."

"GRYFFINDOR!" He was annoyed when the next couple of students, "Grey"…, "Hobbes"…, "Hudson", to name a few, were not sorted into Slytherin. Bruno Newday was finally the first Slytherin and the whole Slytherin table clapped loudly, all annoyed that the Slytherin first years would probably be outnumbered today. Malfoy made Crabbe move next to Goyle on his other side to clear more room for Newday and another new Slytherin, Norwood. A grand total of twenty five Slytherins were in this year, a majority of the first years ending up in Ravenclaw.

When the sorting was over and McGonagall took the stool and Sorting Hat away, Dumbledore stood with his arms wide, beaming. "To our newcomers, welcome! To our old hands - welcome back! There is a time for speech making, but this is not it. Tuck in!"

He never understood why Dumbledore always spoke for no reason before the feast… But everyone seemed to like it because they laughed and applauded. Food appeared onto the dishes and Crabbe and Goyle used entire serving dishes instead of getting proper serving sizes. Theodore calmly looked at the options carefully before choosing a large steak that he covered with some mashed potatoes and gravy before practically shoving it in his mouth. His table manners weren't exactly his best quality, something that Malfoy almost never failed to mention. Luckily, the blonde was busy talking to the first years because, believe it or not, he was almost friendly with them. Slytherins stuck with Slytherins, so it was best to get to know each other right away which was why a lot of Theodore's fellow Slytherins hung around Malfoy or laughed with him and occasionally do what he says.

"How can you eat so much but be so scrawny?" Terence Higgs, a seventh year, asked when he helped himself to some chicken and breadsticks. "Everyday for the past four years you swallow that food - almost without chewing - and you haven't gained any weight! You're a bony twig!"

He used a full mouth as an excuse to not dignify that with a response.

After his third steak, his fourth serving of mashed potatoes, the chicken, half a dozen breadsticks dipped in seven different sauces, treacle tart, a thin slice of pie, and his favorite pudding, Dumbledore stood. The talking which had steadily been growing louder, stopped and everyone turned to look at him, waiting for him to speak. Theodore took a few crackers and munched on them contently as he finally turned to look at him himself. The headmaster began with the usual information, nobody allowed into the Forbidden Forest (for those nitwits who couldn't get a clue from the _name_) and something about Filch complaining about magic (the rotten _Squib_) and then moved onto the change of staff (which happened _every _year) of Professor Grubbly-Plank and Professor Umbridge. It was the Ravenclaws and Slytherins who applauded the most out of the four Houses. Dumbledore was just about to talk about Quidditch tryouts when a soft, _"Hem, hem,"_ came from Umbridge as she stood.

She was going to make a speech.

Now.

At this exact moment.

Before Dumbledore had finished.

It immediately threw him off and he wondered exactly how much change she would be bringing to Hogwarts. But he was probably overreacting, it was just a speech, not the end of the world. Though…Dumbledore had sat down as if _he_ was the new member of staff and looked like he was giving her his complete undivided attention. Theodore snuck a glance at Malfoy who looked pleased, but there was uncertainty swirling in his gray eyes.

"Thank you, Headmaster, for those kind words of welcome." she said in a high, girlish voice which made Theodore bare his teeth and want to strangle her…or at least shove her into a locked broom cupboard with a strong _Silencio_. The voice did not fit her appearance at all, it was almost an insult - to what exactly, he didn't know. Malfoy and Zabini were sneering, Crabbe and Goyle had expressions of distaste, and even Pansy was whispering to her friends who were trying to smother their giggles with their hands.

"Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say!" she continued as Darwin Vaisey gagged. "And to see such happy faces looking back at me! I'm very much looking forward to getting to know you all, and I'm sure we'll be very good friends!"

In what part of Europe was she from that said "happy faces" consisted of shocked, appalled, confused, and disgusted looks? Her diction was terrible - what were they? Three-year olds?

She cleared her throat again and her voice suddenly turned dull and businesslike. Theodore blinked in surprise at how fast she began to speak.

"The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction. The ancient skills unique to the Wizarding community must be passed down through the generations lest we lose them forever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge…"

Oh bugger, his attention was wavering. _Focus….focus…_

"…been called to the noble profession of…"

There it goes again. He blinked hard and tried to focus on what she was saying. Was she purposely making this speech boring so that they wouldn't listen? Malfoy looked like he was having a difficult time trying to pay attention just like him, and Zabini was looking drowsy. Crabbe and Goyle were eating some crackers, and it was with a sudden jolt that Theodore realized his own crackers were gone. He scowled at them and they just grinned back. With nothing better to do, he tried to listen to Umbridge again.

"…some old habits will be retained, and rightly so, whereas others, outmoded and outworn, must be abandoned. Let us move forward, then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness, and accountability, intent on preserving what ought to be reserves, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited."

What? He had a slow, sinking feeling that he had missed something very important. She took her seat and the student in the Great Hall began to applaud slowly. Dumbledore stood up and resumed his speech. Malfoy looked around quickly, then lowered his head. "What did she say?" he asked.

"Something about treasure I think." Zabini offered, stifling a yawn. Malfoy scoffed and motioned for Crabbe to get Pansy's attention.

"Hey Pansy, best that we get ready to leave since we're suppose to show the first years where to go," Malfoy said when she looked over. "Password is _Serpens secretum_," he added to his fellow fifth years.

Soon the Hall was loud with the sound of students leaving their seats, chatting as they left for bed. Malfoy and Pansy, along with other prefects, gathered the first years and guided them ahead to their House common room. Theodore walked behind the group, watching the other Houses disappear down different corridors. The Slytherins, however, went down toward the dungeons. It was considerably cooler down there just like they liked it, if they had a problem with it they just had to put another layer of clothing on. As they got closer to the Slytherin Dungeons, older students lingered outside, most of them couples who hadn't seen each other during the summer, others who simply didn't feel like going in. He actually discovered Newday managed to separate himself from the other first years by getting stuck in a trick step, he had to be pulled out by a cranky Malfoy.

He smirked when he saw the expressions on the first years' faces when they saw the common room. It was an awe-inspiring sight, looking like a dungeon and all. He looked around the room proudly, it was decorated with black and dark green leather sofas, skulls, green lamps hanging from long chains, and short candles. Stone snakes were on the walls, green eyes glowing softly and outside some of the windows you could see it was just water that was giving the whole room a green glow. The lake water lapped against the windows softly, and a few colorful fish darted past, causing a girl Slytherin first year to coo in delight. Once you got past the creepy factor, it really was amazing.

He considered sitting by the fire for a while, but when he saw Zabini let out a loud yawn, he did the same and realized exactly how tired he was.

"Where're you going?" Daphne Greengrass asked Zabini, whom she had been talking to on the walk back. He had walked away from her without a word and she look vaguely insulted and sniffed when she realized he hadn't been paying her any attention. Amused, Theodore followed him into their dormitory for bed.

* * *

><p><strong>Yeah, boring, I know. It was even boring just typing it up.<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

"There's a scratch on my trunk!" Felix Faux, one of his dorm mates, whined to another. "You didn't have to kick it, you could've asked for that bed! Have you an idea how much this cost?"

Theodore huffed in annoyance, he didn't even get to throw himself onto his own bed yet and he had a feeling there would already be a hostile confrontation between Felix and Julius Silas. The latter which seemed to decide he would be taking Felix's bed. Knowing how those fights always turned out, there was a good chance that either Blaise or Theodore would have to step in and put a stop to it; hopefully before it turned to the worse.

"Not now, you two," Zabini hissed, throwing his silk pajamas onto the ground in frustration. "I'm exhausted and it's barely the first night back. If you know what's good for you, you'll go straight to bed and you _might _not find your breakfast poisoned in the morning!"

Theodore shivered.

"Since when do we have to listen to _you_, Zabini?" Silas asked, pulling out his wand.

"You know, when two people fight it's usually because they both harbor deep and secret feelings of affection for one another," Theodore said, though he knew that was far from the truth when it came to those two, their fathers hated each other and that hate passed onto their children. As for Theodore, he knew Silas wouldn't dare attack him or harm him in any way really, his father was Silas' superior. His ass would be sued off.

Funny how it was their fathers who seemed to guide how they felt or interacted with one another. Well, except for Zabini, his dad and step-fathers _mysteriously _died.

Silas sneered at him and spat on the carpet at his feet. "Oh, shut up."

Theodore wrinkled his nose at the saliva and cleaned it with his wand. Silas and Faux were already climbing into their switched beds while Zabini pulled on his pajamas. By the time he was in his own pajamas and in bed, his three dorm mates were asleep, Zabini actually had earmuffs and a silk eye mask on. Spoiled brat, he was more spoiled than Malfoy, but at least he was more subtle about it.

He closed his eyes and turned over in his bed, prepared for what he hoped would be a good night's sleep.

_There was fresh snow outside, spread out evenly across their large garden and the field beyond. It was also freezing, but he didn't mind that much since all he could think about was playing in the snow when they got to their destination. Maybe he could convince Draco and Gregory to join him too, that would be fun. Draco's yard was so much larger than his, there would probably be enough snow to build a snow-dragon._

"_Come on, Teddy, we don't have much time," his mother called softly, extending her hand to him. "We have to meet your father…"_

"_I thought we were gonna go to Draco's house," he said with a pout, putting his hand into hers, it was so tiny in comparison. He gazed at her long polished nails, she chose black today._

_She smiled. "We are, but your father decided to come and wants to get a few drinks before we go, Lucius tends to make him feel a little stressed. Let's see if we can talk him out of the wine today, shall we?"_

"_Dad says wine is good."_

"_Certainly, but it's not good for you."_

_He pursed his lips in confusion, then felt her tug him along through the snow. They approached a silver spoon on a tree stump and he stared at it in excitement, it had to be Portkey, there was always a new one when they went into the village. His mother smiled at him and held it out to him, he grabbed it eagerly. A second passed and he felt a tugging behind his bellybutton. Colors swirled around and the wind roared as he felt the ground leave his feet, it all jerked to a stop and he tumbled onto some snow. Two strong hands lifted him back onto his feet and he grinned up at his father's face._

"_Hey dad."_

_He smirked at his son and pat his shoulder. "Hey, kid," he greeted in a rough voice, the corners of his mouth turning up had made a few of his wrinkles more pronounced. His dad had always been much older than his mother, while his face had wrinkles, hers was completely smooth. It didn't really matter to him since they seemed to act the same age and he hadn't even noticed their age difference until Draco mentioned it (quite rudely actually)._

_He watched as his parents exchanged greetings with a kiss on the cheek, then walked into a pub with him close behind. For some reason, he felt a shiver go up his spine when they sat down and an old waitress came to take their order. Her eyes lingered on his father for a second longer than him and his mom. Teddy clutched onto his father's robes as if to protect him - though he didn't know exactly what he needed protection from, it was just one of those feelings. His dad gave him a concerned look before looking up at the lady and cocking an eyebrow._

"_What would you like?" she asked with a small smile._

"_Have we met?" his dad asked curiously._

"_No," she said slowly. "Though you may have seen me here, I usually do the cooking in the back."_

_His dad blinked, and Teddy realized he didn't seem too convinced._

"_Anyway," his mother said quickly, looking a bit annoyed. "We'll take two teas and a hot cocoa for my son."_

"_Change one of those teas into a White Rat Whisky," his dad said, giving his wife a smug look. She just rolled his eyes._

_The old woman nodded and left to get their drinks._

"_Xavier, what did Lucius want to talk to you about?" his mom asked his dad._

"_What makes you think he wanted to talk to me about anything? Narcissa is the one who invited you, I'm just tagging along," he replied._

_She scowled. "We both know you can barely stand Lucius unless it involves you-know-what."_

"_I'm just visiting old friends, you ca-"_

"_Friends! Is that what you call those people now? Why, if Draco and Teddy weren't so fond of each other I would never even-"_

"_Not in front of the kid, Ellena," he interrupted, a bit weakly. Teddy sunk down in his seat, he had been wondering when his dad would use him as an excuse to stop talking with his mom. They occasionally argued like this in front of him, but he usually stayed quiet, hoping to learn exactly what they were keeping from him._

"_He'll know about it sooner or later. Merlin, Xavier, we better not be going back home hauling questionable items again! You know what could have happened if it had been _Teddy_ who had opened that box instead of that stupid house elf?"_

"_I know… I swear it's not like last time, we'll talk more later. You're scaring Theodore."_

_She looked down at him, her face relaxing into a reassuring smile when Teddy gave her a nervous wave. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and leaned toward him._

"_So Teddy, what do you plan to do when we are at Draco's house?" she asked. "You seemed more excited than usual."_

"_I wanna build a snow-dragon!" he said excitedly, glad his parents had stopped the small argument. "It's gonna be huge since there's a lot of snow in Draco's yard. After that we're gonna make some stupid muggles for it to eat."_

"…_Cute," she said, glaring at his dad who was snickering._

_The woman returned with their drinks, she used her wand so that they floated in front of them. He took his cup of cocoa eagerly, taking a sip and ignoring the burn he felt down his throat in favor of the warmth that filled his stomach. His father took the whiskey cheerfully and was about to drink, but the glass shot out of his hand. He glared at the culprit: Teddy's mom._

"_Oh no, not this time," she said playfully, pushing her tea to him instead. He gaped at her in disbelief and she took a sip of the whiskey tauntingly._

"_I wanna try it!" Teddy whined._

"_Hmm…I suppose you can have a taste. We can share and your father can have his tea."_

"_Ellena…," his dad said warningly as she offered the glass to their son. She started laughing, but it was cut short when her breath hitched and the glass dropped from her hand - _

Theodore forced himself to wake up from the dream, his expression calm. He ran a trembling hand through his hair before looking at the single large window where it seemed the giant squid had decided to visit. He raised his wand and waved it at the window like they were taught in their first year. "_Effingo caeli,_" he whispered. The lake vanished and the sky outside appeared as if they were in the castle's highest tower, he was relieved to see it was morning and that he hadn't just woken up in the middle of the night.

"Ugh, Nott!" Faux cried out, covering his face with his pillow. "No sun, sun is evil."

"Time to get up," he explained. "First day of school you know."

Silas rolled off his bed and let out a string of curses before going into the bathroom. Zabini was still sound asleep with his earmuffs on, causing Theodore to have a small desire to pull at his sleeping mask so that it would slap back into his face, but he wouldn't dare.

Maybe he could bribe Faux to do it.

He opened his mouth to suggest it, but alas, Zabini sat up in bed and removed it himself.

"What are you looking at?" he asked haughtily. When he didn't get an immediate response, he glared at the window. "And put the window back to normal, it's annoying."

He just shrugged in response and did what he was told. Zabini went straight into the bathroom with Silas while Theodore and Faux got dressed and went into the common room.

"Oy, Nott, we're betting on how long that Umbridge lady will last," Miles Bletchley shouted from halfway across the common room. "Want in?"

He just shook his head and looked up at the notice board in case anything interesting popped up. The first Hogsmeade weekend would be in October, the Slytherin Quidditch team would need some new players (beaters) and a date had yet to be set, someone's cat was going to have kittens… Nothing even _remotely_ interesting.

_Why doesn't anything interesting ever happen to Slytherin House?_

He tightened his bag over his shoulder and left the common room. More Slytherins walked past him as he went up a flight of stairs until he reached the corridor where Slytherins and a few Ravenclaws merged. Strange, they didn't usually go through the dungeon corridors if they could help it. When he overheard some of his peers whispering about Potter and Dumbledore, he realized they were just trying to avoid Potter and his apparent madness. Shocking that they would choose to hang out with the Slytherins since his House was the one whose students were once called "Death Eaters in Training", you would assume they would avoid them with those rumors going around. He had yet to see this "training facility", as did other Slytherins, so the other Houses were just being idiots in his opinion. Not that Slytherins didn't pop out more Dark Wizards than the rest of the Houses combined, but they weren't all that bad.

He turned toward some other stairs to go down a different corridor in order to avoid bumping into people, he didn't mind that it would take him a bit longer to get to the Great Hall. Though, he was disappointed to see he wasn't alone, there was a first year Ravenclaw stuck in one of the trick steps. After barely a second of consideration, he jumped over her and continued on his way, successfully managing to kick her bag down the stairs. He rolled his eyes with a small smirk when a few other Ravenclaws hissed at him for his callousness.

He entered the Great Hall behind a group of Hufflepuffs and slid into his seat at the Slytherin table, helping himself to a large serving of porridge covered with eggs, bacon, and cut up sausages.

"You have the strangest diet," Malfoy drawled as he sat down across from him, Crabbe and Goyle at his sides.

"Everyone else is eating it, so nothing is wrong if I eat it all at once," he said, slightly pleased to see that Malfoy's two lackeys agreed.

"But they aren't suppose to be combined into…that." He pointed at Theodore's breakfast as if it might jump up and bite him. "You're suppose to eat it separately like a _normal _person!" Theodore suppressed a grin; it seemed like he was whining now.

"It's good, you should try it."

Malfoy gagged. Theodore was about to add something else, but paused when he noticed the loud conversations in the Great Hall suddenly went lower until they were just above whispers. Malfoy looked around to determine why, then scowled at the entrance to the Great Hall. Harry Potter was coming in behind a huddled group of Ravenclaws, talking with Weasley and Granger. Malfoy was still glaring at them and Theodore knew a rant was coming up.

"Oh just _look_ at them all," Malfoy spat, nodding at some students who were now arguing amongst each other while glancing at Potter. "Everyone is talking about him, talking about how great he is, how brave. Potter must be pleased with all the attention he's getting!"

_Actually, they're talking about how much of a loony he is._ Theodore thought, staring up at the cloudy enchanted ceiling. _…I don't think he's even noticed that everyone is talking about him._

"It's all anyone has ever talked about! First, Potter with his _scar_, then Potter with the _stone_, and the bloody _basilisk_, and his _brooms_ and _werewolves_ and the _Triwizard Tournament._" He let out an unattractive snort.

"Basilisk, Draco? Really?" Theodore scoffed.

"Oh, of course you wouldn't know about it," Malfoy said, looking thoughtful.

"Know about what?" Zabini asked, taking a seat on Theodore's left.

"Nothing important," Malfoy said smoothly, buttering some toast casually. Zabini shrugged and pulled a few flapjacks onto his plate.

There was a loud clatter and Theodore instinctively covered his meal as hundreds of owls dived into the Great Hall. It was obviously raining outside, droplets of water and damp feathers dropped onto the students as each owl flew to their owners. A familiar eagle owl landed in front of Malfoy after a small package had dropped into his lap, in its beak was a letter from his father. Malfoy took it almost eagerly and read it while his owl began to devour all the toast in sight. When he finished, he put the letter into his robes and looked at Theodore.

"My father says your dad got hurt in a rockslide," he said.

Theodore twitched. "My dad will write to me himself if he wants me to know something, you don't have to tell me anything," he replied.

Malfoy stared at him carefully while Theodore averted his eyes. "I think you should be well informed when it comes to your family."

Suddenly schedules were shot into their hands by Professor Snape who was walking down the Slytherin table, jerking his wand occasionally. Theodore was saved from having to continue talking to Malfoy, instead looking down at his schedule like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

"Transfiguration, double Potions, Ancient Runes, and double Charms," Malfoy read out loud to his small audience. "We have all the same schedules, don't we?"

Crabbe, Goyle, Theodore, and Zabini nodded.

"I'll be going a little early…" Theodore said, standing up and leaving the Great Hall. He looked back to make sure nobody was following him when he bumped right into two familiar people. He stumbled and was caught by one arms.

"Sorry," he mumbled, getting back on his own feet to look at who he had bumped into.

The Weasley twins.

"Looks like we've caught a little Slytherin," the one who had caught him said cheerfully. He was smiling, but it was obvious he wasn't exactly pleased about having his breakfast thrown out of his hands.

"He sabotaged our toast," the other twin said in mock horror.

"You can get more toast," Theodore insisted. He really didn't feel like being shoved into a broom closet. Sure, they weren't exactly bullies, but they could be really nasty to Slytherins. "It was an accident, I wasn't watching where I was going."

"Well, you could get us some more and carry it to class for us,"

"I'm not your slave!" Theodore snapped.

"You should be in breakfast or in class, should you not?" a cold voice asked out of nowhere. All three of them turned toward the wall where the voice had come from. The Bloody Baron floated through it slowly - almost lazily. He stopped next to a very relieved Theodore and gazed at the twins emotionlessly.

"Er…," one said awkwardly. The twins looked at each other, obviously unnerved. "Yeah, come on Fred, it _was_ an accident…"

They both fled outside to the greenhouses, leaving Theodore alone with the Baron.

"Thank you," he said a bit reluctantly.

The Bloody Baron stared at him for a while. "You have toast in your hair," he said simply, floating right through him and into the Great Hall. Theodore shivered and hurried to Transfiguration.


	4. Chapter 4

He was the first one to enter the Transfiguration classroom and was surprised there was now only three rows of desks. Professor McGonagall was standing tautly by her desk, looking prepared to give a speech she had given many times before.

"Good morning, Professor," Theodore said politely, inclining his head.

She nodded stiffly in return. "Mr. Nott."

He gave her a roguish smirk, well aware that she was part of some group under Dumbledore which was against the Dark Lord, she had been tailing his father for a few days during the summer. His father was used to this from the First Wizarding War, so she was unsuccessful in catching him doing anything significant.

He walked down the tables in the front of the class to find one with the smoothest surface, when he found it, he seated himself and stared at Professor McGonagall.

"So, how was your summer, Professor?" he asked conversationally.

"Mr. Nott, if you feel a need to keep yourself busy, please do so by reading the passage on Vanishing Spells in your book on page 22."

"Yes, ma'am," he chuckled, cracking his book open and reading silently.

A quarter of an hour later, more Slytherins filed into the room, chatting loudly amongst each other. Faux and Silas sat at his left and Zabini on his right, Malfoy was sitting at the next table with Crabbe, Goyle, and Justin Haunt. To Malfoy's right the table filled with Pansy, Tracey, Daphne Greengrass, and Eliza Moon, behind them was Andrew Core, Alex Grant, Stanley Bustos, Millicent Bulstrode, and at the next table behind Malfoy was Heather and Stephanie McGoose, Oscar Pellet, and Eleanor Rolan. The eight behind Theodore were Christopher Cox, Henry Flatbeard, Mason Murphy, Lorrain Longbeak, Tiana Forest, Steven Simonson, Veronica Valor, Adele Maybell. Icarus Dame, Tiberius Talbot, Meredith Timberstone, and Jesse Catch sat on the second to the last desk at the back.

As soon as they settled down and all of their attention was on her, Professor McGonagall began to speak. She gave them all a lecture about their O.W.L.s and of what she was expecting from the class this year. When she finished, they were instructed to read about Vanishing Spells in their books, when they were done reading, they would be allowed to pick up a snail and attempt to vanish it.

Theodore was the first to finish thanks to his head start, but was not having much luck in making the stupid thing disappear, no matter how much he jabbed his wand at it. Everybody else eventually had a snail, and he still hadn't come any closer to vanishing his. When it retreated into its shell, he decided that it counted and mentally congratulated himself. He jabbed it hard when it began to uncoil, earning a stern look from Professor McGonagall.

He looked around the class to see how everybody else was doing. Faux and Silas were not having much luck, but Zabini had managed to vanish his snail's shell (which effectively ended up killing it). Crabbe had smashed his and was sticking it under his chair while Goyle rolled his back and forth across the desk. Malfoy was pointing his wand at his snail lazily as he said the incantation, but it was obvious his heart was not in it since the snail remained where it was even though Transfiguration was one of his best subjects. He was relieved that their class wasn't a double period, he had a feeling there wouldn't be much progress even with the extra time since it was dreadfully dull; he always did have a suspicion that Professor McGonagall purposely made their classes boring. So, to say he was relieved when Talbot accidentally transfigured Professor McGonagall's hat into a large bat would be an understatement. The relief was short-lived, however, when another misfired spell had the bat multiply into hundreds. The vicious bats dived at all the students and tried to scratch and bite their faces.

"I am just going to say for the record that I had nothing to do with this," Faux said to an unimpressed Silas from under a desk, Theodore shook his head in annoyance, using Silas' bulk to shield himself from most of the bats. Malfoy was under the table next to them, using Crabbe and Goyle to shield himself almost completely. The blonde turned to glare at Pansy who was shaking his shoulders violently and screaming bloody murder.

"Oh for Merlin's sake, Pansy, shut up!"

Professor McGonagall wasn't having much luck in rounding the bats up or even vanishing them because before she had time to cast a spell, they attacked her face. She looked furious, her tight bun almost unraveling from the effort it took to simply remain standing. Theodore was relieved to see a few of the other Slytherins managed to drive a few bats away from her long enough so she could vanish them. One bat remained, and with a swish of her wand, it changed back into her hat and floated onto her desk.

Malfoy coughed. "That was a lovely demonstration, Professor," he said obsequiously.

"That's not going to work, Mr. Malfoy. Five points from Slytherin for this disturbance," she said stiffly, straightening her hair. Malfoy sneered and the rest of the class began to search for their snails to carry on with class.

* * *

><p>"It <em>stings<em>," Zabini hissed during the break, gesturing at the cuts on his face.

"I can heal them for you," Goyle offered, pulling out his wand.

Zabini grimaced. "With all offense intended, I am not comfortable with putting my faith in your wand waving ability," he said scornfully. "We all know how _wonderful_ you are with it…"

"I agree, your face looks _so_ much better that way," Ginny Weasley said as she passed. "It's a wonderful look on you, Zabini."

"Shut up, Weasley, nobody's talking to you!" Zabini shouted. All of the Slytherins in the area gave her a death glare until she practically bounced away to one of her friends.

"What was her problem?" Theodore asked as Malfoy went on another rant about the Weasleys and Crabbe cracked his knuckles dangerously and glaring at the girl.

"You know Gryffindors…they don't need an excuse to do anything," Zabini replied, though Theodore had a feeling there was more to it than that.

Zabini jerked his head in Goyle's direction, waving his hand from him to his own face carelessly. Goyle waved his wand and the cuts on Zabini's face disappeared as they passed the courtyard. The Slytherins preferred the indoors and could not fathom why people were standing out there like idiots when it was so damp. Cho Chang was with a large group of girls and sounded exasperated as she tried to explain something to them. Eventually one pushed her forward and she blushed as she made her way into the courtyard to a secluded corner where Potter and his friends were talking. Theodore rolled his eyes and left the area.

"Where're you going, Nott?" Malfoy called after him, sounding displeased, but Theodore ignored him.

The break was almost over so he was already on his way to the dungeons, planning to get there before a Slytherin-Gryffindor fight broke out in the corridors on the way. Surprisingly, what he found was a Slytherin-Ravenclaw fight instead. Or rather, Slytherins doing what they do best, ganging up on someone weaker than them. Pansy and her clique of girls were harassing the crazy blonde haired Ravenclaw who was sitting on the floor casually and fiddling with her shoes which were not on her feet. Pansy kicked her right shoe down the steps leading to the dungeons.

"So, Lovegood, no luck finding those nergles and wrackers?" she asked nastily.

"Nargles and wrackspurts actually. I'm not searching for them now, class starts very soon," she said distractedly. "I don't really need to look for them if I know they're already here."

Pansy smirked and opened her mouth to say something else, but Theodore approached and she cut herself off to look at him curiously. "The bell will ring any second Pansy, you'll have enough time to make friends later, it's barely the first day after all," he said with false sweetness. Just as he finished, the bell rang and Pansy flounced away to Professor Snape's dungeon with her friends, casting him a quick glare.

"You should go too," he added to the Ravenclaw. "And do us all a favor and keep away from Pansy, we all savor those moments she keeps her trap shut."

Pansy used to be tolerable before she went out of her way to impress Malfoy. It had started in second year. Theodore had known Pansy before Hogwarts but they never really talked, he was still one of the first few who were informed that her little brother had died at the age of two. She had been sobbing for days and everybody avoided her because of how she seemed to be so inconsolable. And then, to everybody's amazement, Malfoy appeared and comforted her, giving her a shoulder to cry on. Theodore didn't know _why _Malfoy had done it, perhaps it was an extremely rare moment of pity, or maybe because the boy had also been feeling a bit depressed around that time and sought similar company.

Apparently Malfoy treated her very well even after she stopped crying over her lost sibling because she pined for his attention in third year as soon as he looked away from her. Of course, being the largest attention-seeking bigot of the millennium, he wanted more attention than her. Being slashed by the hippogriff worked out excellently for both of them, and the Yule Ball had given them a good excuse to go out and show off together in an attempt to get _more_ attention (Though they were outshined by Krum and Granger). Whether they actually like each other enough to be boyfriend and girlfriend was unclear, but they were friends at least.

Lovegood just shrugged at him with a dreamy smile and skipped away, completely barefoot. He shook his head and jogged down to Snape's dungeon door which was just creaking open. He followed the other students inside and took his normal seat in the front of the class with the other Slytherins. After insulting a majority of them, they got started on the Draught of Peace.

Personally he though he was doing very well with his potion by the end of class. His vapor had a bluish tint to it, but it was better than everybody else's except perhaps Granger's and Malfoy's.

"Potter, what is this suppose to be?"

Theodore's head shot of and he turned around quickly, hoping something hilarious had happened. A majority of the class had also turned their heads eagerly, but were disappointed that nothing seemed out of ordinary, though Theodore did notice Potter's potion was letting out a large amount of dark gray steam. Compared to other potions, it wasn't _that_ bad.

"The Draught of Peace," Potter replied, obviously knowing what was going to happen next.

"Tell me, Potter, can you read?"

Malfoy laughed, nudging Crabbe and Goyle to whisper something to them. Theodore couldn't help but notice Goyle's potion was bubbling dangerously.

Professor Snape vanished Potter's potion and instructed them to put their samples into flasks and turn them in with their names on it. Goyle's flask exploded, setting his robes on fire and burning a few holes into Crabbe's and Malfoy's. Professor Snape made the rest of the class leave as he fixed the damage, muttering under his breath about morons and how he hated dealing with this stuff.

_Well, maybe you won't have to do it anymore once the Dark Lord takes over._ Theodore thought, though he was uncertain of whose side Professor Snape was actually on. He hated thinking about it, especially in the middle of school, but he couldn't help it. His father told him that he heard from Lucius how Professor Snape had come after the Dark Lord had summoned all of the Death Eaters when he was reborn. He had said he did it to keep his cover from being blown, but Theodore was convinced his professor was just scared when he attempted to ignore the burn of the mark and came crawling back. Nobody would ever be able to successfully betray the Dark Lord, it would mean certain death. It would be pointless to betray him unless you were a good person noble enough to die for the "good cause".

What defined a good person anyway? He would like to think his dad was a good person, he certainly loved his son, but he had also murdered people in the past and was probably doing the same thing at this very moment. Professor Snape wouldn't be considered a good person either once word got out that he was still a Death Eater and would continue to murder people. Any history he had as an amazing Hogwarts professor would be erased, it wouldn't matter anymore. Theodore would also like to think of himself as a good person, but even in his young life he had already sinned.

"Nott, you have that look on your face when you think about how life sucks," Faux said as he walked past him to the Great Hall for lunch. "Stop it before you spread your gloominess around."

"It's contagious, I'm already infected," Zabini said, whom Theodore was surprised to see had been walking with him. Indeed, he did look rather bitter.

Suddenly Crabbe and Goyle ran from behind them, almost sending the three flying back down the steps to the Great Hall. Malfoy sauntered up to them, examining their flustered looks with an expression of amusement.

"Can you believe those two? If lunch was a class they would be passing it with flying colors," he drawled, matching his steps with Theodore's.

"Careful, Malfoy, don't get too close, apparently my gloom is contagious," Theodore said, looking at him through the corner of his eye.

"You're always gloomy," he pointed out blatantly. "because you think too much."

"I think just the right amount which is why I'm better than you."

Malfoy scowled, probably realizing that was true - not that he would ever admit it out loud. Theodore was a pureblood Slytherin and the son of a Death Eater that was in the Dark Lord's inner circle, just like Malfoy.

Zabini and Faux walked a little quicker towards the Great Hall to cover their laughter at Malfoy's expense, but he snorted and went after them, leaving Theodore alone. He rolled his eyes, about to pick up his pace when a hand grabbed the back of his robes. Three hands actually. A fourth hand slapped over his mouth before he could let out a cry for help and he was dragged into an alcove behind some suits of armor. He struggled violently until a wand poked his back. There was a soft chuckle, then blackness.

* * *

><p>"-bit early in the year though, you think?"<p>

"Better sooner than later, Snape'll be too busy to notice, hopefully."

Theodore kept his eyes closed, listening to the familiar voices. It had to be the Weasley twins, were they honestly making such a big deal over a little toast? Even Slytherins didn't hold grudges that big. He concentrated on his wrists and ankles, they were tied together. _What were they, muggles?_ He shifted just enough to feel his wand slide a bit in his robes. _Why would they leave me armed?_

"Funny how we got _this_ Slytherin."

"Fate, I say. Better than getting a first year, nobody would worry about them because they get lost all the time."

"What year _is_ he? He's scrawnier than even Ickle Ronniekins, almost as tall though."

"Fourth year, I reckon."

"Nah, I think he's just tall, third year."

"Fifth!" Theodore snapped, opening his eyes and causing the two Gryffindors to jump. After a moment of silence they smiled.

"Have a nice nap?" Twin #1, on the right, asked. "We didn't mean for you to be out that long."

"Don't take it too personal," Twin #2 said. "We just need a little…, ah, distraction."

Theodore glared at them furiously.

"Or if it does make you feel better, you _can _take it personally. You see, George may be willing to let you off easy, but I had really been looking forward to actually eating today…," Twin #1 said. "But honestly, we just need you to do a little something and all will be forgiven."

"Well, not so much as _do_ something, more like cooperate-"

"-no worries though-"

"-you're doing excellent so far-"

"-much better than we could have expected-"

"Because you have my body bound, you arseholes," Theodore spat.

Twin #1 waggled his finger at his face. "Now, now, no need to use that language."

"Believe it or not, it could be worse. You could be jinxed-"

"-or hexed-"

"-or unconscious-"

"I _was_ unconscious, what do you want?" Theodore asked wearily, just wanting it to be over now. "You said something about a distraction…"

"Well we can't exactly tell you our plans since you'll most likely rat us out to settle the score between us," Twin #2 said, grinning. Twin #1 made him stand up straighter and led him down a corridor which he recognized was on the seventh floor. They explored it for a while, opening a few doors, but they both seemed to decide that none of the rooms were suitable until they reached one which Theodore was sure had not been there a moment ago.

"Perfect," both twins said simultaneously when they opened the door. They both pushed him and he stumbled into the room.

Taking a quick look around, he saw it was rather small but a bit larger than a broom cupboard. There was a chair in the middle of it and the twins pushed him down into it, making sure he was still bound. He scowled at both of them, struggling feebly.

"See you later," Twin #1 said, waving at him and closing the door. He winced when he heard it lock from the outside.


	5. Chapter 5

Theodore squirmed uncomfortably in the dark. It had been about ten minutes and he was still getting over the shock of being trapped in a small dark room alone. What did the twins want from him exactly? He knew they need a distraction, but it didn't make much sense. How was he going to distract anyone if he was locked in a room by himself?

_Think, Theodore, you know the answer._

A missing student might draw attention, who would be the first to notice? His dorm mates and maybe Malfoy. In fact, they had been the last ones to see him. It wasn't unlike him to skip lunch at random times so they may not look into it at first but they would find it strange that he skipped lunch while he was walking there and actually had the last word against Malfoy. Surely they would notice him if he wasn't in class? The teachers wouldn't notice anything at first, students could miss and they would be informed later.

_Alright, so _eventually _somebody will notice I am missing, but how would that cause a distraction? Not all of school would come searching for me. Who would though?_

Professor Snape, of course, the twins had mentioned him. The Slytherins would report that Theodore was missing to him so he would conduct a search himself before going to the headmaster. That would mean the Weasley twins would want something from Snape. What could they want, though? All Snape had was potions, what would they want with those? He didn't know the answer, but it was a relief to know that the twins planned on him being let out sometime when they were finished with whatever they had to do. Theodore wasn't sure about their grades in class, but when it came to mischief they usually knew what they were doing. It was a relief to think they weren't just being malicious.

He rubbed his wrists together a bit but the ropes didn't loosen. He could feel his wand still in his robes and wondered how he would get it into his hand. It took a while, but he managed to stand up from the chair, only to fall unceremoniously to the floor. His head banged against the wall and he hissed a few curses, stars dancing in front of his eyes. An ebony and dragon heartstring wand poked out of the front of his robes and he quickly leaned forward so that it slid onto the floor.

And promptly rolled under the chair.

"Fucking hell…," he moaned, letting his head hit the round repeatedly until the bell announcing the end of lunch rang. Or at least, he thought it was, he wasn't sure how long he had been unconscious with the Weasley twins. For all he knew, he might have already skipped his Ancient Runes class.

He twisted himself onto his back and scooted as close to the door as he could. Rocking back so that his weight was on his shoulders, he pulled his knees up to his chest, then kicked them both as hard as he could next to what he thought was knob of the door. It rattled but nothing happened. He repeated it several times but it did not break open or attract anyone's attention. To be honest, he didn't want to yell for help because of how weak he would look once he was found, he would rather break out on his own, but so far Plan A and Plan B were huge failures.

Even though he was beginning to get extremely tired he rolled back onto his stomach and moved his head around to feel for the chair. When he found it, he went on his side, back facing it, and tried to retrieve his wand with his bound hands, stretching them as far as they could go. To his frustration, the way his elbows were positioned prevented him from reaching farther under the chair. Maybe he could use his legs? He pressed his back against the door and tried to shove his bound legs under the chair, unfortunately since both of his shoes were so close together they didn't fit under the low chair. With a groan he began to hit his head against the ground again.

_Theodore Nott, son of Xavier Nott, Head of the Department of Magical Transportation _**and** _Death Eater of the Dark Lord's inner circle was found dead of severe exhaustion and complications from repeated actions of banging his head against the floor._

He shifted his feet against each other and felt one of his shoes loosen.

_Of course!_

He managed to rub his shoes together more until he managed to slide both shoes off, revealing his feet which were surprisingly small compared to his shoes. "Butterfly feet," his mother had called them, much to his embarrassment. He triumphantly slid his feet under the chair and felt them push the wand out from under it. Flipping himself on his back, he managed to scoot on top of the wand and pick it up with his hands which were still bound behind his back.

_Alright, genius, you have your wand, now what? _He was really beginning to hate his own mind.

He thought of the spells he could use to cut the rope on his wrists. _Diffindo _was too risky to use if he couldn't see exactly how much rope there was, he didn't feel like slicing his wrists. _Comminuito _would make several cuts into the rope, but they would be pretty small - the spell was mostly used for slicing up vegetables. _Rasorium _would be good, he would have direct control over it. It was a difficult spell since it was a mix between a charms and transfiguration, but would be worth a try.

"_Rasorium_," he said as clearly as he could, completely focused on what he wanted. After a second, he clumsily felt his wand until his finger brushed against its tip that had turned into a tiny blade. With a grin he flipped it in his palm and moved it up and down steadily. It was a relief when he felt the blade cut deeper and deeper into the rope. Eventually the rope slipped off and his hands were free. He quickly cut his legs loose as well and stumbled into the chair, relieved that it was over.

"_Finite,_" he said to his wand. It transformed back into it's normal form and he pointed it at the door. "_Alohamora._" Nothing happened, and he didn't know many of the other spells that could unlock the door.

_I need a way out of here. Any other way, I can't stay stuck in here. I need another doorway or something. And food, I'd like something to eat… Maybe there-_

The room shifted and he pulled his legs onto the chair, terrified when the walls seemed to be closing in on him. He could hear his heart pounding rapidly in his chest, counting down to when he would be crushed.

"Somebody, help!" he shouted, throwing his composure out the window. Suddenly the room stopped moving and he slowly managed to calm himself down. "…_L-Lumos_." A small ball of light appeared at the tip of his wand, lighting up the small room.

It almost looked the same aside from a dark spiraling staircase which had appeared behind him. It was dangerously close to the back of the chair so he scrambled off of it quickly and leaned against the door. He could hear some students on the other side and assumed they were sixth or seventh years on break. If he banged on the door he could probably get their attention now but…

Leaning forward, he could tell the stairs went down for quite a distance, where did they lead? Curiosity won over logic and he went down the steps, slowly at first until he began to take them two at a time. The steps did not seem to be unused, on the contrary they seemed to be well taken care of. It was also very narrow, and he wondered exactly what used these steps, the ceiling had been getting lower and lower so that now it was just barely a foot over his head. He was certain that these steps were not intended to be used by any students or teachers at Hogwarts.

He wondered how long he had been walking, it felt like he had gone down all seven floors of the castle and was already panting for breath. The steps were beginning to get worn, and he knew he was approaching the end. A few more minutes passed until he stopped in front of a small wooden door with no door knob. He pushed his hand against it gently and it swung open.

He didn't get a chance to have a good look around because of the many squeals that immediately caught his attention. He lowered his gaze and saw about a dozen house elves crowding around him excitedly, but nervously. They were all talking at once and he could hardly understand what they were saying. Deciding to ignore them for now, he looked up at the room he was now in.

It was a very long room filled with well over a hundred small, elf-sized doors. Against one section of a wall was a large rack of extra blankets and pillows. He could even see a long archway leading to what seemed to be a large washroom. It was all simple, but a bit fascinating to him, he didn't know so many house elves actually lived at Hogwarts.

"What are all of you doing here?" he asked, focusing on a house elf that continued to bow at him.

"Tis our sleeping quarters, young master!" it replied excitedly, almost tripping over it's large feet as it tried standing straighter. "We is just leaving to begin preparing dinner!"

"Dinner, already?" Theodore asked, wondering exactly how long he had been missing.

"Yes sir, we must prepares early for all young masters to eat full meals!"

"Yeah, I know, I have a house elf…," he murmured. "I'm just surprised of how late it is. How do I get out of here?" He looked at the door behind him. "Er- aside from where I just came from."

"Through the kitchens, sir! Would young master like Tippy to show young master the way?"

He gave the elf a curt nod and it skipped ahead of the others to another wooden door, holding it wide open for him. On the other side was an even larger room, almost larger than even the Great Hall. It took him only a moment to realize he must actually be under the hall, it would explain why there was also large tables here set up the exact same way. Over a hundred house elves were running around, doing countless chores in order to have everything done by dinner. His mouth began to water and his stomach growled when the smells of cooking food for dinner reached him. The house elf which was leading him had already reached another large door and was waiting for him patiently to leave with it.

"Er - Tippy, right? You don't think I can maybe get something to eat before I leave, do you?"

Squeals of delight sounded from all around the room and he assumed he must have said something good. The elves seemed only too happy to serve him.

"Of course, young master! All young master must do is ask!"

"Alright, I'll just take some roast potatoes, a tuna sandwich, tea, and…pudding. A lot of pudding."

Not even a minute later, four elves rushed to his side carrying a large tray filled with everything he desired. Perhaps he could send his own house elf here for some training.

"Excellent," he said, looking around for a place to sit. It was a well known fact that house elves could be good at service, but he was still surprised when they actually pulled up a chair and table from him. He grinned, liking the place more and more every second. He would definitely be returning here. When he sat, the tray was set on the table and the elves went back to their work.

_This may be my best kidnapped experience yet._ He thought when he tasted the roasted potatoes.

Though they all wore the same tea towels, there was something different about each of the elves, but it was sometimes difficult to spot. Usually the differences could be seen in either the nose, ears, or feet. The strange thing about one particular elf was that it wore some clothes, a lot actually. He looked very similar to a house elf he had known before, it even had the same large tennis-ball-like green eyes.

He spit out his tea.

"_Dobby?_" he exclaimed, staring at the elf in shock.

The elf stared back at him, frozen, then gave a squeak of terror and attempted to flee, only to end up tripping over his own socks and crashing to the ground. Theodore winced and approached him, frowning.

"Dobby, what are you doing here? You belong to the Malfoys, don't you?" he asked, confused. The last time Theodore had seen him was when he was twelve and visiting the Malfoy family with his dad, he and Malfoy had considered throwing him off the roof out of boredom. The only reason they hadn't was because they couldn't find out where the elf disappeared to. When Dobby had returned, he was too injured to do anything, both from self inflicted injuries and a beating Mr. Malfoy had given him for not coming when he was called. He studied the clothes the house elf was wearing and his eyes widened. "You were freed?"

Dobby pulled on both of his ears nervously and nodded. Theodore tossed around a few comments in his head, trying to find one that was appropriate. There wasn't much to say to a freed house elf you once slammed in an oven for entertainment when you were seven.

"Good for you," he said awkwardly. He cleared his throat when he remembered freedom was suppose to be considered bad. "Well - I mean…freedom isn't - it's not really a good thing for house elves so I really mean, too bad? I think?"

The elf muttered something and stared at the ground. Theodore couldn't help but notice the other house elves were giving them a wide berth. Now beyond curious, he went down to the elf's level, trying to meet its gaze. Dobby was wearing a lot of clothes, if he was ashamed of being free, he wouldn't be wearing so much. Perhaps he liked being free? Dobby did seem a bit odd to him, even when he was younger.

"You know, Dobby…," he said softly - but not exactly kindly. "Free elves should be able to speak up for themselves. Really, I can't do anything to you, I can't even punish you." He looked over at an oven with a small smirk. "Technically I never had the right to order or punish you, you were never mine," he added as an afterthought.

The elf swallowed, then the bright green eyes met his dark blue.

"Sir is a _dark, evil,_ wizard!"

Theodore blanched.

"Dobby's masters were bad wizards! The Malfoys and Notts are _bad_, _BAD_, _DARK, EVIL WIZARDS_! D-Dark wizards who-who…." The elf cuts himself off and fled, leaving Theodore feeling like a barrel of ice cold water had just been dumped on him.

Sure, he knew what was left of the Nott family were all dark wizards, but it still kind of hurt for it to be yelled at his face. And by a house elf too. A _slave_. How ridiculous and shameful, what would he dad say? Nothing, actually, now that he thought about it. He didn't say much these days.

_Damn it, Theodore, stop thinking about this, it's not important. You're in _Hogwarts_ now. You're dad, the Dark Lord, Death Eaters...that-that's another life at the moment._

Luckily the other house elves decided to ignore Dobby's outburst, or perhaps they weren't allowed to have their own thoughts about light and dark wizards. He didn't really know.

The thought vanished when he made a sudden move to go back to his table and a house elf jumped out of his way as if he would snap and begin beating it. Great, now they thought he was abusive. Ok, so he had given his own house elf a tiny kick or two, but that wasn't the point, _they_ didn't know that.

Suddenly not so hungry anymore, he searched for Tippy, the only elf whose name he knew and didn't hate at the moment.

"Tippy," he called when he saw it. "How can I return here?"

The house elf was at his side immediately. "A portrait is the entrance and exit, young master! All young master must do is tickle the pear for entry."

Theodore nodded and opened the large door he had seen the house elf standing by earlier. When he stepped out and closed the door, the bell rang and he realized he still didn't know the time. If the first bell he had heard was after lunch, than his double Charms lesson would be starting now. However, if he had been unconscious after lunch as well, then that would mean he was in the _middle_ of double Charms. The bell always rang once during double classes for students who had normal classes. Hogwarts had a strange schedule, but it was expected considered that there was over eight hundred students and only so many teachers.

Students began to flood into the corridor so he quickly maneuvered his way around them. On the way to Professor Flitwick's classroom, he passed right by the Weasley twins. What was weird was not the fact they were holding a bag of mysterious looking vials, but that they seemed surprised and mildly impressed when they met his gaze. Pushing the thought away, he decided it was much more important to focus on not getting trampled on his way to class.


	6. Chapter 6

He had to use both hands to turn the large knob into Professor Flitwick's classroom. Poking his head in, he was pleased to see that it was an active lesson, so he might be able to slip in unnoticed. A few Slytherins stopped what they were doing when they saw him and he mentally cursed them. Their silence had attracted Flitwick's attention and the dwarf sized professor saw him come in. Luckily, he didn't seem angry or annoyed in any way.

"Ah, Mr. Nott, take a seat, take a seat, it's the first day…," he said cheerily.

Theodore smirked and slid into the seat next to Zabini.

"Nott, where the hell were you?" Zabini hissed. "You vanished, Malfoy had to report it to Professor Snape after you didn't show up for Ancient Runes."

"I was gone for one class," Theodore murmured.

"You were gone for lunch, Ancient Runes, and half of Charms. Malfoy thought you may have been attacked because of you-know-what. He was scared he would have to watch his own back now too."

"Why would _that_ be a problem? Nobody believes Potter," Theodore said, surprised that Zabini would talk about this out in the open. He flinched when he felt movement right beside him.

"Millicent heard something on the way to the bathroom," Daphne said, sitting next to him out of no where. "She heard from like, ten thousand other people that Potter snapped and started yelling at Professor Umbridge about You-Know-Who."

"Oh, the bathroom. That's reliable."

"For your information, she heard it from Bones who was telling Brocklehurst about what she heard Corner telling Fawcett when he heard about it from Boot who was told by MacDougal who heard those Gryffindors, Patil and Brown, talking about it when she delivered a note to Umbridge."

Zabini scoffed and Theodore rolled his eyes. He sincerely doubted Potter would yell at a new teacher before Professor Snape. Then again, Umbridge seemed to be a hateful hag so he may have lost it with her.

_Good for Potter._

Daphne went back to her seat between Tracey and Pansy when the door opened and Malfoy walked in. He raised an eyebrow when he saw Nott but just shrugged and sat between Crabbe and Goyle.

"We're reviewing Summoning Charms," Zabini added as he noticed Theodore gazing around the room at the objects zooming by.

"_Accio_ quill," Theodore said, flicking his wand at Malfoy's quill which he had just taken out of his bag. It shot into his hand and he held it up triumphantly as Zabini snickered. Malfoy scowled at him and attempted the same incantation nonverbally to get it back. Unfortunately for him, the quill only twitched feebly in Theodore's palm. He tossed it back anyway.

For the next half hour, the Slytherins were on their guard since they were all stealing as many things from each other as they could. Of course they returned the things afterwards (most of them, anyway), it wasn't a good idea to make enemies in your own house. That was what Gryffindor was for, you could easily direct all of your hate toward them. When class was over, Professor Flitwick let them go with a load of homework which made the whole class moan simultaneously.

"We have to practice for Transfiguration, an essay for Potions, a passage to read for Arithmancy, and now this. That's every class today," Theodore heard Silas complain to Faux.

"I have Ancient Runes," Faux replied with a small smirk. "You only have to read for Arithmancy, what's so hard about that?"

"Oh right, did we have homework for Ancient Runes?" Theodore asked Zabini as they followed the two back to the dorms to drop off their bags.

He nodded. "Translating a passage from page 43. Not too difficult, just to refresh our memory I suppose."

"Hey, Nott," Malfoy called, striding toward him, Crabbe and Goyle right behind as always. "What on earth happened to your shoes?"

Theodore paused, then looked down on his feet, realizing for the first time that all he had on were his socks. He had left his shoes in that small room, it was almost funny that he barely noticed it now. Oh well, he had plenty more up in his dorm.

"I must have left them," he replied, trying - and failing - to hide his amusement.

"Where exactly were you? You disappeared before we had entered the Great Hall." Zabini looked over in interest, wondering if he would answer.

"Was ambushed," he sighed. "By some stupid Gryffindors, they dragged me into an alcove when you weren't looking and stunned me. They thought it would be hilarious to stuff me in a…broom closet." He would have to look up that strange room later.

"Which Gryffindors?" Crabbe asked, looking murderous.

"Dunno," he lied. "Just saw the red."

Malfoy scowled. "Gryffindors don't have anything better to do, do they?" he asked. "Really, what would they gain from stuffing you there? Pointless, really."

_Actually, it went all according to their plan_, Theodore thought.

"How could you leave your shoes? What did you use them for?" Goyle asked, brow furrowed in confusion.

"I was bound, my wand fell so I had to use my feet to push it out from what it rolled under. My feet were smaller without shoes," he replied before the poor bloke over exerted his brain.

"I hate Gryffindors…," Zabini muttered, looking furious and glaring straight ahead at nothing in particular. His mind was obviously elsewhere. Theodore and Malfoy exchanged puzzled glances before stopping at a seemingly blank wall.

"_Serpens secretum_."

The stone door concealed in the wall slid open and they all stepped inside. Malfoy sauntered over to a group of fourth years and struck up a conversation while his two lackeys threw their bags onto the floor and then left the common room for dinner. Theodore and Zabini went down a hall to some stairs leading to their dorm to drop of their own bags properly. When they returned to the common room, there seemed to be some kind of debate.

"-could happen, I'll admit. But dueling You-Know-Who? _That's_ what's mad."

"Well we don't know what happened, we weren't there."

"They could have told us."

"He's completely bonkers."

"You-Know-Who can't be back, we'd all be dead or something."

"If it was true we wouldn't have the children of his followers here, they could be spies."

He tried not to seem too interested in what they were talking about, but stood still and watched, dinner all but forgotten.

"Everybody settle down," said the ringing voice of a seventh year prefect, Troy Milton. "I've got something to say." The talking reluctantly ceased and all attention was on him. He cleared his throat.

"Judging by most of the conversations here, I'm pretty sure everybody knows what's going on. But, just incase, I'm sure there are a few who would not mind if I do a quick recap," he said loudly from the center of the common room. "At the end of the Triwizard Tournament last year which had taken place at our very own Hogwarts, Harry Potter came out of the last task with the dead body of Cedric Diggory."

Whispers. Zabini shoved him from behind and Theodore realized he was blocking a few other students coming up from their dorms. He moved away to a group of older students.

"Exactly _what_ happened, we may not ever know. However, Potter and our headmaster, Dumbledore, has insisted that…that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has come back. We all don't know if this is true because there seems to be a stunning lack of a certain Dark Lord running around." Nervous laughter. His tone got a bit more serious as if he was about to discuss school rules. "It's not really important what we think about this development. What is important is that we, as Slytherin House, keep our head down." There was a brief moment of silence, then the room erupted in protest.

"Why?"

"We didn't do anything!"

"Not fair!"

Malfoy raised his wand and a loud _bang_ echoed around the room, making them all go silent. The blonde put his wand away slowly and leaned back against a wall, staring at Milton with an unreadable expression.

"Thank you, Malfoy," Milton said, giving him a small smile and receiving a curt nod in return. "We are all aware of our House's rather dark reputation, as are the other Houses. We are not well liked - not that it matters. Because of what's happened, we may be in for a rough year. Jinxes and hexes are bound to be shot our way and I would sure appreciate it if it wasn't our House that started it. Do _not_ fight unprovoked, it will do us no good." There were murmurs of disagreement and he sent their sources a cold glare. "Oh don't give me that, you know we always start it. We can't have all of Hogwarts _completely_ against us." A small smirk appeared on his lips. "Let's play the sympathy card for now, but please don't be too obnoxious."

"We're not obnoxious," the sixth year girl in front of Theodore said with a pout when Milton left the common room for dinner. "And we're not _that_ bad."

Theodore suppressed a snort. "We're the most racist and prejudice House in Hogwarts," he said scathingly.

She looked over at him with a glare. "Not true, three quarters of us are half-bloods. We even have a few muggle-borns."

"Being in Slytherin cancels out the dirty blood," her boyfriend explained.

Theodore just shrugged. It was true, there were about four muggle-borns in all of Slytherin House, and they were very careful not to let the other Houses become too aware of it in fear of being mocked and called hypocrites when they insulted the blood purity of the others. If Slytherin was all pure-blood there wouldn't exactly be a wizard population problem.

"I knew a rather nasty Ravenclaw once," Higgs said, the only seventh year in the group. "She could put Slytherin to shame, wouldn't even touch a half-blood."

"Ugh, I hate people like that."

Bored of the conversation, Theodore went out of the common room and to the Great Hall for dinner. It was still early in the dinner hour, so he was surprised when he saw Potter and his two loyal friends leave the Hall. Potter looked infuriated and was obviously restraining himself from some kind of outburst. It wasn't hard to see why when he sat down next to Zabini at the Slytherin table. Everyone was talking about how Potter yelled at the Umbridge woman and how crazy he was, even the Gryffindors.

He looked up at the staff table. All of the teachers seemed to be uncomfortable one way or another except Dumbledore himself. Professor Umbridge had a forced smile on her face, her bulging eyes examining the Gryffindor table coldly. Professor Snape nodded at Theodore, reminding him that the potions master had probably been looking for him and would want an explanation soon.

He was helping himself to lasagna when he felt Zabini stiffen next to him. He looked up and followed the black boy's glare that was directed at the Gryffindor table. Specifically at a certain female Weasley. Zabini stabbed a sausage viciously as he glared and Theodore raised his eyebrows.

"Alright, Zabini, normally I mind my own business when it comes to other people's relationships-" That was a total lie. "-but I must ask: What in Merlin's name is going on between you and Girl-Weasley?" he asked. "She hasn't had enough time to annoy you this much in only a day."

"It isn't any of your business," Zabini said coldly.

"You look at her as if she kicked your puppy, I'm afraid you may snap. That would reflect poorly on Slytherin House and you are usually so composed. I thought grudges were beneath you." He was quite serious actually, Zabini did look as if he may attack the Weasley any second. The girl was popular in Gryffindor House, his act would not be forgiven. The sooner he made Zabini realize this, the better.

His eye twitched. "It's not a grudge - not really. You don't know what you're talking about, Nott."

He was beginning to get stressed, Theodore knew that if he managed to rile him up enough, he would either attack him or just tell him what was going on between them. Attacking would be unlikely as there were too many witnesses.

"Do you _like_ her?"

His glare darkened. "How dare y-"

"Ashamed of liking a blood-traitor?"

_If looks could kill…_

"I wouldn't _touch_ that filthy thing," Zabini spat. There was something about his voice, and it wasn't just the concealed rage. Theodore's eyes glittered maliciously when he realized what it was. Zabini was so lucky Malfoy wasn't here, he would be jumping to terrible conclusions.

"Oh, but you _have_ touched her, haven't you?" he said. "Interesting. I'm curious of how exactly that happened…"

"It wasn't like - Shut up!"

"Zabini, I'll assume the worst if you don't tell me…Maybe I'll just ask her."

"No!" he said too quickly, then looking as if he was having a hard time deciding whether to curse himself or Theodore. "Dammit Nott, j-just drop it for now, alright? I'll tell you later, honestly, it's not what your think, nor is it a big deal." He paused, looking thoughtful. His eyes finally cleared and he regained his haughty composure. "Maybe….Maybe I am just overreacting a bit."

Theodore smirked and went back to eating.

"You have very small feet by the way."

He choked and ignored the other Slytherin's existence for the rest of dinner. Eventually the last of the Slytherins including Malfoy joined the table. Dinner went on as usual until on loudmouth decided to be heard.

"Did you hear about that Umbridge woman?" Bletchley asked a group of Slytherins near Theodore. He rolled his eyes in response, who didn't know about the shouting match between Umbridge in Potter? It was honestly becoming old too fast. "We won't be doing any magic in her class."

_What?_

The Slytherins were silent, staring at him.

"Lies!" Malcolm Baddock cried dramatically, breaking it.

"That can't be true," Malfoy said, sneering. "We need to practice that magic, it's the most advanced stuff now. There's a practical in the O.W.L.s, there's no way we would be able to pass without ever performing the spells before."

"Unless the Ministry is intentionally screwing with us," Calhoun Warrington said softly, but still managing to catch a few of the Slytherin's attention. There was nervous muttering for a while until the leftovers of their food vanished and dinner was over. He walked with a pack of Slytherins back to their common room to practice for Transfiguration and to translate his runes passage.

Only about half of the Slytherins were in the common room, the others either spending time with their friends or doing homework in the library instead. Malfoy grabbed his bag from a chair and started on his homework by the fire. Zabini lounged on a couch, an extremely fluffy cat curling up on his chest. When he saw Theodore looking, he gave it a half-hearted shove away from him.

He went to his room and laid down on his bed, pulling out a few of his Ancient Runes books and some parchment to get to work. He was finding it extremely difficult to ignore Faux and Silas who were once again arguing as they did homework on the floor between their beds.

"It's _wagon_, not _flagon_," Silas growled.

"Wagon makes no sense, you dolt! You don't even take this class, you don't know _anything_," Faux snapped back.

"How dare you! I ought to rip out your tongue for that you disrespectful little shite!"

Theodore looked up when he heard the thump and saw Silas pinning Faux to the ground roughly with one hand. The smaller one still managed to grab his wand and poke it into his neck. Sparks shot out and Silas let him go, only to lunge at him when Faux attempted to get up. Pretty soon the two of them were rolling around the dorm, fighting like muggles. Theodore just watched them, bored and wondering who would knock out who first or if they would think to use their wands on each other.

As soon as he thought this, Silas grabbed his wand from his bed and shot a blue jet at Faux, causing his skin to turn hard and gray. Faux retaliated with first throwing a book, then firing a yellow spell at Silas, making him jerk violently and begin knocking things over. Theodore sniffed in annoyance when he almost ended up on his bed.

"That's enough, you two," he said loudly, pulling out his own wand. "Stop it, now."

They ignored him and Silas managed to throw himself back on top of Faux. Fire shot out of the formers wand and caused two of the beds to burst into flame.

"_Aguamenti_," he said quickly, shooting jets of water out of the tip of his wand to douse the fires. He then pointed his wand at the wrestling boys and said harshly, "_Diahoriz_."

Invisible hooks seemed to have dug into their necks as they were both raised into the air and thrown apart from each other against the stone walls. They let out choked gasps and crumpled on the ground. Silas held onto his neck while coughing violently and Faux curled into a ball and closed his eyes in pain.

"I said to knock it off," Theodore explained, looking over them. When he saw how hard Faux was trying to stop himself from crying, he began to feel guilty. Those walls were made of stone after all, and the spell's "hooking" wasn't a pleasant experience either. He lowered his wand when he heard the door open.

"What the- Nott, what did you do?" Zabini asked, looking at their dorm mates in shock.

"They were fighting," he explained hastily. Zabini wasn't the type to report things unless they were serious, but he still felt the need to justify himself.

He scowled at the two and went to his bed, noticing that the extra bed and Silas's had burnt up to almost beyond recognition. He raised his eyebrows at Theodore who just shrugged and went back to his own.

"I'm not going to share a bed with another guy," Zabini said to Silas and Faux who were standing up shakily. They looked at each other and frowned, simultaneously looking at Theodore.

"You really think I would share?" he spat at them.

They quickly looked away and slunk to Faux's bed, awkwardly sitting on opposite ends and going back to their homework.

"I'm bruising, just wait, he'll regret this…" he heard Silas whisper harshly to himself.

"If you two fight over something so stupid again, bruising will be the least of your worries," Theodore said coldly. He gathered his homework into his bag and left the room, slamming the door behind him.


	7. Chapter 7

"My brain…I think it's half dead," Malfoy said, leaning against a portrait dramatically. The wizard cook in the portrait shook his fist at him and fled into its neighbor's. "Honestly, Binns had probably bored himself to death! You think he would take that as a hint to stop being so dreadfully dull!"

Theodore and the rest of the Slytherins snickered loudly on their way to double Defense Against the Dark Arts. They had all just endured a double History of Magic class, hence Malfoy making fun of Binns. The whole class had been very boring, even when Malfoy had tried to get Theodore's attention from across the class room when Binns was talking about giant wars.

Malfoy continued to mercilessly bash the ghost Professor all the way to their next class. He had barely reached the topic of their homework when they entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. After a quick mental debate, Theodore sat down at the same table as Malfoy. He knew the blonde would be a total brownnoser and being next to him may have some benefits.

Professor Umbridge was sitting at her desk, smiling eerily at all of them as they took their seats. She was wearing an unattractively bright flowery robe and a few of the girls giggled when they saw her. When everyone was seated and the talking died down, she stood.

"Good morning, class," she greeted.

They knew about what she expected, word traveled fast. "Good morning, Professor Umbridge," they chanted.

"How wonderful, I am pleased to see that some of the students here at Hogwarts know how to properly greet their professors," she said sweetly. The Slytherins all exchanged smug looks.

"Wands away and quills out, please."

Theodore scowled as tucked his wand back into his robes and pulled out a long quill with parchment. Umbridge tapped a blackboard with her short wand and words that they had to copy down appeared as she lectured them. He had really been hoping that Umbridge would treat his class differently and let them do magic. Unfortunately, her authoritative tone made it very clear that this was how things would be everyday.

"Has everybody got a copy of _Defensive Magical Theory_ by Wilbert Slinkhard?"

"Yes, Professor Umbridge."

"Excellent," she said. "Turn to page five and read chapter one, 'Basics for Beginners.' There will be no need to talk."

Theodore obediently opened his book to page five and began to read. The book was interesting enough, but the silence was extremely distracting, at least you had Binns talking in History of Magic. When he was halfway done, he glanced at Malfoy and noticed he was gazing at Faux who was tentatively putting his hand in the air.

Umbridge noticed and put on a strained smile. "Yes, Mr.- ?"

"Faux. Felix Faux," he said, lowering his hand. "Ma'am, there's an owl outside."

Malfoy stiffened next to him and the whole class turned their heads toward the window. When Theodore looked himself, his mouth almost dropped open.

Bernadette was outside and tapping the window insistently with a letter in her beak.

Umbridge stood up and opened the window, allowing the owl to fly in and onto - not Theodore's desk - but Umbridge's. There were soft whispers around the room now, a few of the students had recognized his owl but didn't seem to be sure if it was his or not.

"That's Bernadette, isn't it?" Malfoy asked softly so that only Theodore could hear.

Theodore nodded stiffly, scowling when he saw Umbridge touch his owl as she took the letter away.

"That's enough," she told the class as the whispering got louder. "I said there was no need to talk."

Immediately they silenced themselves, examining her closely as she opened the letter and read it. She just raised her eyebrows and put the letter on her desk, allowing Bernadette to fly back to the Owlery. Theodore's curiosity was practically eating him alive and Malfoy was eyeing the letter on the desk with undisguised interest. When she went back to her desk and started scribbling something down, the rest of the class eventually went back to reading.

The remainder of the class was extremely uneventful. When they finished she just quizzed a few of them verbally and then they were dismissed. It was one of the most boring Defense Against the Dark Arts classes that Theodore had ever taken.

"I can't believe this," Malfoy spat as they sat down at the lunch table. He pulled out his book and held it high up in the air. "This is all we're going to do for the whole year? I would rather be a victim of these spells than read this rubbish! Father said the Ministry would be dealing with the substandard teaching here, but I thought it would be for the _better_. We never seem to have any good teachers, do we? Something is always wrong with them, we need a competent teacher for once.

"And what on earth was she doing with your owl? Did your father send a letter to her? I don't see how if she was in the Owlery the whole time. Our fathers got back from tracking that oaf a while ago and they are no where near here! Somebody was using your owl, Nott."

"Bernadette doesn't like strangers," Theodore said softly, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "It may have been my dad, she probably found him when she went hunting or something."

Malfoy looked skeptical but didn't say anything else. Zabini joined them a quarter of an hour later with a few library books.

"What were you doing?" Theodore asked.

"I was at the library doing a bit of the homework for Charms. Countercharms are actually rather useful so I checked out a few books for some light reading," Zabini replied. "I left only because Potter and that blood-traitor were getting too close for comfort."

"I forgot about the countercharms homework…," Malfoy murmured. "Merlin, we have a lot. The countercharms, the Vanishing spell, the giant wars, translations, the moonstones. I did the translations last night and wrote a few notes about moonstones, but that's it. Crabbe and Goyle had asked me to correct all of their work, it was torture."

Theodore finished up his lunch and stood. "I'm off to the library to get started on that moonstones essay."

They acknowledged him with a few murmurs and he left the Great Hall.

In the library there were tens of thousands of books on thousands of shelves. Sometimes it was very difficult to find the right books, especially with a librarian as useless as Madam Pince. She was much too concerned with the state of the books than actually helping them. After all, if a student found a book, they could check it out, if they checked it out, they could damage it.

He could see Potter and Weasley going through one book at a time together instead of splitting their work. Smirking at their foolishness, he pulled out a few books from the shelf when they weren't looking and quickly scanned their contents.

_Extraordinary Potions and a Complete Guide to Their Ingredients_, _Perks of Potions, _and _Eleven Excellent Elements and Their Uses in Potion Making_ all had something about moonstones so he placed them on the table next to his bag. After going down a few more shelves and collecting only _Practical Potions and Understanding Their Notions _(he swore the titles of the books were beginning to get quite silly) he went back to his table. He was surprised to see somebody else was already there. Harry Potter was examining the books he had collected.

He stared at him for a while as had never been this close Potter alone before. It was much easier to examine him without the distraction of other people all around. The Boy Who Refused to Die looked liked any other boy, there was nothing really spectacular about him. His eyes lingered on the lightning bolt scar. He would love to know if there was anything special about _that_.

As if feeling him staring, Potter looked up at him, raising both eyebrows inquisitively. Theodore cleared his throat, forcing himself to look at the book in his hands. It was _Eleven Excellent Elements_.

"That's my book, Potter," he said coldly. Potter froze for a moment, then huffed, features darkening.

"I had it first," he said in a voice that was obviously straining to be calm.

"I put it on the table, my bag is right-" he stopped when he realized his bag was missing. "-was then, my bag _was_ there. Where did you put it?"

"He didn't touch anything, it's not our fault that you can't keep an eye on your stuff," said Weasley, standing next to his friend. Theodore let out a frustrated sigh. At least he still had a few of the other books to use. It would be much easier to do homework since he knew where the kitchens were if he needed to skip a meal again.

"Fine, keep the stupid book," he said, leaving them to find his bag.

He could have sworn he heard Weasley say, "Let's check this out so that he won't be able to get it."

He just rolled his eyes at their maturity level and pulled out his wand. "_Accio_ bag," he said. It was a relief to see it zoom toward him and into his arms.

"Ah, that must be him."

"I'm beginning to think these are no longer coincidences."

Theodore scowled at the voices and saw the Weasley twins coming from the same direction his bag appeared from. Why had they stolen it? He quickly began to examine the contents incase they had tampered with any of his things.

"We were told to give a note to Theodore Nott," Weasley Twin #1 said, holding a folded piece of pink parchment high in the air. "That just happened to be you."

"We saw the bag that was labeled with that name," Twin #2 added.

"We had no idea you were him."

Theodore sighed. "Alright then, can I see the note?"

Twin #1 seemed to seriously think about it before shrugging and handing him the parchment. Theodore paused, surprised, then unfolded it and read it.

_Mr. Nott,_

_There are important matters I would like to discuss with you and a few other students. Kindly report to my office this Saturday at 5 p.m._

_Professor Umbridge_

He frowned, then looked up at the twins who were watching him. "This isn't a trick, right? You're not planning to ambush me by her office and force me to do anything terrible?"

They grinned. "No," Twin #1 said. "But that's an excellent idea. She seems to have taken a liking to slimy little Slytherins. We can't let that happen."

"I'm George, by the way," Twin #2 said. He gestured at Twin #1. "And this here's Fred."

"Theodore Nott," he replied. "Though I think you've got the hint from the note and the bag. Then again, Gryffindors are pretty daft…" They looked rather amused than angry at the comment, then bid him farewell and left the library.

Theodore looked down at the note again. What would Professor Umbridge want with him and a few other students? He wasn't anything special. Except well…he had a Death Eater father. He suddenly felt cold; Umbridge was part of the Ministry, what if she was bringing in the students for questioning? Sure, he could lie easily on the spot, but the fact that they were suspecting already wasn't good. She had his owl as well, what if she had intercepted a coded letter from his dad? He stuffed the note into his bag and hurried toward the exit in hopes of finding Malfoy or even Crabbe and Goyle before class so he could ask if they had received the same message.

"Watch out," Potter snapped when he rushed between him and Weasley.

The bell rang as soon as he stepped out of the library and he huffed in annoyance when he realized he had forgotten all his books. Deciding he could check them out later, he changed direction to the grounds. He could see Professor Grubbly-Plank standing by a long table in front of Hagrid's cabin as she waited patiently for the rest of the class to reach them. He was the only Slytherin to arrive so far, the others were just leaving the castle up the slope of the grounds behind Potter and his friends.

As they got closer, Theodore saw Malfoy was still making fun of professors. By the looks of it, he was making fun of Umbridge and causing all of the other Slytherins to laugh. They all glanced at Potter, obviously remembering that he had supposedly yelled at that same teacher. Potter gave them a dirty look in return.

"Everyone here?" she asked when they all arrived. "Let's crack on then - who can tell me what these things are called?"

He gazed at the twigs on the table, noticing that they seemed to twitch occasionally. From the corner of his eye he could see Malfoy doing an accurate imitation of Granger when trying to answer a question. He and the rest of the Slytherins snickered heartily.

Then Pansy screamed, making him jump almost a foot in the air. The twigs had revealed that they were actually alive. He eyed their sharp fingers warily, wondering if they were poisonous or something. It would have been very likely if Hagrid had been the one teaching. He shuddered at the thought of last year's Blast-Ended Skrewts. He still had a few burn scars on his elbows from when his had violently exploded.

"Bowtruckles," Granger said correctly. She answered a few more of Professor Grubbly-Plank's questions and then they were assigned to sketch a bowtruckle.

Theodore paired himself up with Dame and Haunt. Neither of them wanted to touch the creature so they agreed that he would hold it and let him copy their drawings afterwards. He noticed Malfoy whispering something to Potter and rolled his eyes. The blonde sat down with Crabbe and Goyle next to his group, still smirking in self-satisfaction from whatever he said to Potter.

"Hey Malfoy," Dame called while he labeled his bowtruckle. "I heard you telling Crabbe and Goyle something about Hagrid and his job here, what was that about?"

Malfoy scattered some wood lice on the ground at his bowtruckle and looked over his shoulder at Potter and his friends. He looked back at Dame, a malicious glint in his eyes.

"Yes," he drawled loudly. Theodore scoffed when he realized what he was doing. "Father was talking to the Minister just a couple of days ago, you know, and it sounds as though the Ministry's really determined to crack down on the substandard teaching in this place. So even if that overgrown moron _does_ show up again, he'll probably be sent packing straight away."

Obviously distracted, Potter let out a cry of pain. The few Slytherin witnesses laughed as his bowtruckle ran off and escaped into the forest.

"Subtle, Malfoy," said Theodore, elbowing him hard in the ribs when he reached over to his bowtruckle that had attempted to run when he had been busy laughing. Malfoy winced and gave him a scathing look, returning back to his group.

"Why'd you wanna know, Icarus?" Haunt asked.

Dame shrugged. "My mum was talking to my uncle about what a few of his friends were doing. They caught a glimpse of Hagrid and he didn't look so good."

Malfoy looked over in interest and the bowtruckle attempted to escape once again. This time Crabbe managed to catch it and hold it still. Theodore fidgeted uncomfortably as he held his own, thinking about the job Malfoy mentioned when he had talked about their fathers. Something about them recruiting others and tracking someone. His dad had been hurt in a rockslide…

"What do you mean? Was he injured?" Malfoy looked way too hopeful.

"Beat up pretty good I heard," Dame said, seeming a bit unnerved at Malfoy's expression.

Haunt finished up his drawing and gave it to Theodore who quickly copied it as Dame fed their bowtruckle and double-checked their work.

They all gathered their things when the bell rang and turned in their bowtruckle drawings, successfully finishing and as a result had no homework. On the way back, something clicked in Theodore's mind and he rushed up to Malfoy and Crabbe and Goyle. They all looked surprised and their steps faltered.

"Yes?" Malfoy said, raising an eyebrow.

"Did Umbridge send any of you a message?" he asked. Malfoy nodded once in understanding.

"I got one just after lunch. She asked to meet this Saturday," he said, shrugging. "It's not what you think though, Crabbe and Goyle didn't get one, but I know Grant did."

"So she isn't collecting the children of Death Eaters…" Theodore mused. "What does she want?"

Malfoy sneered. "The children of _Ministry officials_ of course. She plans to give us a talk about our loyalty to the Ministry, I heard her talking to some Ravenclaws about it."

"Well…that's not too bad."

"I dunno, Nott. Umbridge seemed pretty set on getting our cooperation, I swear that broad was a Hufflepuff," Malfoy spat. His eyes flickered and Theodore could have sworn he looked a little nervous. "I think we should be careful around her though. Too much loyalty can be a bit dangerous you know."

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><p><strong>Review?<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** I started a new fic called "The Path You Choose" with the main characters as Tom and Ginny. Take a look, each chapter is 100 words long.

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><p>Theodore's afternoon was spent reluctantly acting as a tour guide to a few Slytherin first years instead of going to the library. If he knew one thing, it was that he was not as daft as them in his first year. They were idiots who got lost after every third step. It wasn't just Slytherins either, he actually caught a few straggling Gryffindors in his group who were convinced they were accompanying some Ravenclaws to the Great Hall.<p>

And Merlin, they had been _second_ years.

By the time he finished supper and made it to the library, any books that could have helped him with his Potions homework were checked out. Instead he had to settle for some Charms books which was probably for the best considering he had Charms first thing in the morning. He had to scan through each book since the titles were very vague on what they were about.

"Hello."

The voice surprised him so much that the book he was retrieving fell out of his hand and onto his head painfully. He cursed and glared at Lovegood.

"Are you hiding?" she asked him.

He raised an eyebrow. "Should I be?"

"You're Theodore Nott."

It was a statement, but he confirmed it with a nod anyway.

"Another Slytherin was talking about hurting you, I was curious."

Unnerved by that piece of information, he narrowed his eyes. It was an unofficial rule for Slytherins not to harm each other out in the corridors since it helped for the other Houses to think that all Slytherins worked together. "Which Slytherin?"

She just gazed at him dreamily and he wondered if she was going to respond at all.

"He is large, but not as large as Draco's friends."

"That's only one third of Slytherin. How very helpful of you," he said sourly.

She continued as if he hadn't spoken. "He has short, pointy brown hair and he always spends time with a skinnier Slytherin with dark red hair."

Dark red hair? That was Faux. One of the only other students to hang around him who was large with brown hair was Silas. For two people who hated each other so much, they sure did spend a strangely large amount of time together.

"That was Silas then. Well I guess he does have a good reason for trying to hurt me," Theodore admitted with a shrug. "He'll get over it."

"So this happens a lot?"

He smirked. "You can say that. He's probably not mad enough to act on his threats though."

"Well that's good. Here he comes now." She was looking around a shelf where Silas and a few other Slytherins were walking past.

He ducked under the table. When Silas passed, he stood up and brushed some imaginary dust off of his robes, meeting the crazy Ravenclaw's calm gaze.

"What? Just because he _might _not act on his threat doesn't mean he won't at all."

Silas and his companions had taken a seat only a few shelves away. Reluctantly, he gathered up all his books and checked them out so he could slink out of the library unseen. Even though Lovegood followed him, he wasn't caught. He still glared at her for it though.

"You want something?" he asked. "My books? Because I doubt you're going over the same stuff right now if you're a year below me."

"I just feel like going in the same direction as you."

Theodore scowled but didn't say anything else. Sure, she was stalking him, but she didn't seem to be doing any harm and he wouldn't be doing anything that he didn't want to be seen. He would have gone to the Slytherin Dungeons, but he didn't want to be cornered by Silas, he would have to wait until he fell asleep.

They both walked through the corridors for several minutes, Theodore was looking for a place to do his homework and Lovegood was just following. He found it very annoying that his steps were loud as stomping in the empty halls, but Lovegood's were soft pats. He looked at her feet and realized she was barefoot. Had she not retrieved her shoes the day before?

"Where are your-"

"Listen."

She had cut him off before he finished and was staring around a corner at a door of an abandoned classroom. The sounds of voices was coming from it and he had a feeling they were not suppose to be hearing them. When he saw the knob of the door turn, he grabbed Lovegood and pulled her behind some suits of armor with him.

The door opened and the girl Weasley stepped out, her red hair flying everywhere and face full of fury. She stomped her foot then walked away, cursing loudly.

"That's Ginny, she's very nice. Almost like a friend…," Lovegood said. He glared over at her, signaling for her to be quiet. When her mouth closed, he turned back to look at the room.

To his astonishment, Zabini walked out a few moments after, looking quite ruffled. Instead of confronting him though, he stayed behind the suits of armor and watched for any clues as to what Zabini may have been doing. The boy just smoothed his hair, gave a smoldering glare in the direction Weasley had gone, then strutted the opposite way with a huff.

He turned around to face Lovegood. "Do you know anything about this?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Ginny helped him once. I don't think he likes it."

"Obviously…," he mused. "What did she do for him? I've never seen him so mad, usually he's able to pay off any debt. The Weasleys need money so…"

"I don't know."

He sighed. "Alright, well, I'm going to be in that room, so if you want to continue stalking me-"

She shook her head. "No thank you. I'm going back to the tower to study."

Pity. Half of him wanted her to come. She was a _Ravenclaw_ so he could probably worm some answers out of her even if she was a year below him. Theodore rolled his eyes and went into the room, noting that a desk was turned over and a chair had apparently been thrown against a wall. How melodramatic. He went to another desk and seated himself, then pulled out a few of his books and began his Charms homework. The assignment was easier than he thought, he just had to write about countercharms and how they worked and were effective.

The room was getting chilly from the lack of a warm fire like one in the common room. Looking around the abandoned classroom, he spotted a bunch of broken flasks, bottles, and jars at the floor near a large black cabinet. He opened it curiously, but found it was empty so instead examined the broken glasses and pulled up a single jar that was intact. He put it on the desk he was working on and sparked a blue fire into it, a spell he had seen a certain mudblood use often in her first year.

When he finished his homework, he studied the shadows the fire created on the walls as the room got darker from the sun setting outside the window. The warmth and shadows were beginning to make him tired, especially after he had been walking around the castle all day. Eventually he laid his head on his arms and closed his eyes, vowing only to sleep for a moment.

* * *

><p>"<em>Theodore? What are you doing here by yourself? Where are your parents?" Narcissa asked, sounding confused. Her eyes widened when she saw how terrified he looked and she immediately went to his side, examining him carefully. She put a hand on his cheek. "Theodore, where is your mother?"<em>

_He blanched and dropped whatever he was holding. The image of his mother falling onto the floor, wineglass spilling its contents on her body, burning through her skin and the floor. He could still see it as if she was right in front of him. _

_Her eyes bulged and her skin turned sickly green, veins clear and pulsing as she convulsed violently. The skin on her bones seemed to tighten on her and turn into wax until she looked like a plastic skeleton doll. She twitched horribly and finally she went still, the froth which had been spilling out of her mouth shrunk. The sound of the cracks of apparition filled his ears while he stared in horror, his dad was shouting out curses, something about St. Mungos and God. Healers appeared, someone was touching both of his shoulders. His dad was saying something to him, he didn't know what. Something was stuffed in his hand and there was the pull around his naval, the spin of colors. Then he saw Narcissa._

_Her hand stroked his cheek and he suddenly burst into tears._

"_Dobby!" she cried. A crack and the Malfoy's house elf appeared. "Get Lucius, something has happened, it's an emergency. Now!"_

_Another crack and the house elf disappeared. A door opened._

"_Mum? Theo?" a terrified voice squeaked. Draco stared at the two of them in shock. Theodore continued to sob, his hands gripping onto Narcissa so tightly that she had to bend to his level to avoid falling down. Had he been any other child she probably wouldn't have been bothering to touch him. She turned toward her son and gestured at him quickly with one hand._

"_Draco, go to the kitchen and fetch a pink bottle on the fourth shelf in the pantry, bring it here. Quickly now!" _

_The blonde child stared at both of them for a moment, then sprinted out of the room as quickly as he could._

_The door on the other side of the wall slammed open as Lucius strode in fiercely with Dobby right behind. When he saw Narcissa in good health he seemed to calm. His cold grey eyes landed on Theodore, and his head tilted slightly. He approached them both cautiously and placed a hand hesitantly on Theodore's head._

"_Lucius, something's wrong, he portkeyed here by himself. I don't know where Ellena and Xavier are, but I think something terrible must have happened. Draco is retrieving a Calming Draught for me," she explained._

_Draco scurried into the room as she finished and handed her the bottle after almost tripping over his own feet. After several attempts, she managed to coerce the potion down Theodore's throat. With a shuddering gasp, he went limp into her arms, still trembling._

"_Explain what happened," Lucius commanded._

_He could feel Draco on his right, an air of panic around him. His friend still put a hand on his arm and it calmed him almost as much as the potion had. He couldn't bring himself to look at any of them and instead focused on Dobby's feet. The House Elf was shifting his weight from one to the other nervously as if preparing to run._

"_Where are your parents?" Narcissa asked more gently. "Your mother?"_

"_She died," he managed to croak. Narcissa's breath hitched and Lucius tensed, Draco's hand tightened on his arm. "I saw. She's dead. F-Father was there, he-he sent me here, I don't…I don't know where he went. He might have told me, but I d-don't remember."_

"_How did she die?" Lucius asked. He examined the dropped Portkey and tapped it once with his wand. It glowed bright blue for a moment._

"_Lucius!"_

"_It's important, Narcissa," he said calmly._

"_S-She took a drink of something and…and weird things happened to her, then she just went still an-and _died_," he said, now shaking uncontrollably. Apparently the only thing keeping him together was the Calming Draught._

"_I will return," Lucius said, grasping the Portkey tightly. He disappeared._

_Narcissa stood, letting Theodore grasp instead onto Draco who didn't seem to mind being clung onto as much as he usually would have. Narcissa paced for a while and then persuaded Theodore to stand and getting Draco and Dobby to take him to his room. They both scrambled onto the bed quietly and Draco broke the silence once Dobby left to get Theodore a glass of water._

"_She might be alright," he said weakly._

"_She's not," Theodore whispered, his voice strangely detached._

* * *

><p>"Nott. Hey, <em>Nott!<em>" Someone was shaking him. "Theodore! It's past curfew, you're not suppose to be here."

He cracked his eyes open and moaned softly. With a start he realized he had dozed off in the classroom. Draco Malfoy was staring at him curiously at his side. His pale face looked a bit eerie because of the blue flames still flickering in the dark.

"Er - what time is it?" Theodore asked.

"A quarter 'til ten," he replied. "You better get back to the common room. I'm suppose to take off points, but you're in Slytherin and I'd hate to do it to my own House. Go ahead and take the normal corridor, I'm the only one patrolling here so you shouldn't be caught by any other Prefects."

He sighed in relief. "Thanks."

"If by any chance you _do_ get caught, you never saw me, alright?"

He nodded and gathered all of his things and left the room with Malfoy. He went back to the Slytherin dungeons, almost fell in a trick step, and then was back in the common room within minutes.

"What were you doing out late?"

Immediately he thought of Silas and jumped, turning around with his hand on his wand. To his relief it was just Crabbe and Goyle. They were sitting next to a few of the other fifth years.

"Somebody's jumpy," Tracey snickered.

"Silas has been making threats, I hear," Theodore explained grouchily.

"He's not going to do anything," Zabini said. He was playing chess with Faux who nodded in confirmation.

"He hasn't seen you all day out of class so he got bored."

"Thank Merlin, I thought I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight." He looked at Faux. "Look, sorry about what I did, but you two just never _shut up_. It's very annoying, you fight over the smallest things."

"Sorry…"

The attention was turned away from him when Malfoy came into the common room afterwards, having finished his patrols. He was allowed to stay one hour out later than the others because he was a patrolling prefect. He went over to Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy and began an animated discussion about how rude the portraits around the castle were.

"What do you think Potter's detention was?" Zabini asked suddenly.

"He's still there," Malfoy said. "Umbridge has him writing lines until his hand falls off."

Daphne giggled. "Aware of Potter's every move, Malfoy is."

Malfoy scowled. "It was in the detention log, you prune," he growled. "I was wondering how long it was so I would know when to send him back in."

"_Dumbledore_ is making sure we don't send any of his precious Gryffindorks to detention," Pansy spat, walking into the common room. "I tried to assign detention to some this morning but Professor McGonagall stopped me and said it was order form the headmaster. The only reason Potter has it is because the Umbridge woman is from the Ministry and he wants to stay on her good side."

Theodore frowned, sitting on the backrest of a couch Crabbe, Goyle, and Tracey were sitting. He really wasn't sure what to think about Dumbledore. The other Houses said he didn't choose favorites, but he _did_. At least since Harry Potter came to the school. In his first year, for example, Gryffindor won the House Cup after Dumbledore awarded the points to them for doing something that the rest of the school didn't have the knowledge or opportunity to do. Nobody had known what was going on! And the excuses he used: points for chess, handing stress, and being _brave_? They were Gryffindors, of course they were brave! It had been completely unfair. Second year, he admittedly didn't know exactly _what_ happened, but he was sure that whatever they had done wasn't worth four hundred points. Shouldn't the trophies have been enough? They had obviously stopped the attacks, but broke so many rules doing so.

If Dumbledore was so biased on something so little as _school_, who was he to judge those who agreed with the Dark Lord? Why did he get to decide what was good and what was ba-

Sweet Merlin he had to stop connecting Hogwarts to the real world.

"I'm going to bed," he told the others gruffly.


End file.
